Fortitude
by Lex of Light
Summary: A girl searching for her friend in a foreign country and an old traitor wanting to serve his country one last time, follow their stories in this altered version of Radiant Dawn.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: For notes, please visit my livejournal account._

_It's another Nephenee fic brought to by yours truly. This time, I've decided to alter the Radiant Dawn universe. This thing has been gathering virtual dust for a while... sheesh! One last thing, Tauroneo is this AU's deuteragonist, not the love interest (not that I've picked one because I'm feeling very flexible with that)._

_Feedback and critiques are always appreciated.  
><em>

_Enjoy!_

Prologue

A band of drunken ruffians cornered me into a dead end.

I noticed that a few men started following me when I left the town's bar late at night, and after a while, a couple more joined my original pursuers. I do not know if I had somehow insulted them, or if they were just trying to pick a fight with the new girl in town. Either way, I lead them to a faraway corner to avoid any nasty conflict that could've potentially hurt any innocent passerby. But I wasn't going to let them scare me off.

I inhaled a deep breath before turning around and seeing just how many were behind me. I saw five of them. All of them had a strong build, and although they were unarmed, I wouldn't have been surprised if they could've inflicted a lot of damage on me with just their bare hands. Thankfully, I was armed and armoured; at least I had that advantage if the situation got ugly. Not that I expected that the reason for which they followed me was to make me feel welcomed. And after seeing their eyes, I was completely sure they meant me harm. Despite the darkness that surrounded us, I could clearly see the malicious intentions they had.

One of them started snickering mildly. That very same man took a few steps towards me. I could see that he was having trouble maintaining his balance, this confirmed my assumption that they were indeed drunk – well, at least this one was definitely drunk. Since he did not stop, I tightened my grip on both my steel greatlance and shield. I raised my lance, the tip just a few inches away his from his neck. He gasped the moment he stopped walking.

I used that moment of surprise to flip my lance, and I thrust the butt of my weapon right to the torso of the drunken man in front of me. He moaned in pain as he fell to the ground. A second later, he started vomiting the contents of his stomach. I only wanted to scare him off. Perhaps I applied too much strength if I forced him into that state.

The other four men started to laugh, the opposite reaction I was expecting from them, when they saw their companion on the ground. It was disgusting to hear the mixture of snorting and hiccupping as they laughed. I was starting to regret having reacted so hostile towards them – even if they asked for it. The only thing I accomplished by defending myself was provoking them even further - typical.

When I took a step back, the four of them smirked. Now, all four of them approached me in unison. I flipped my lance once again to threaten them with the sharp end of my weapon. Of course, alcohol clouding their better judgment – if they had any – must've impeded them from registering the fact that they could've gotten hurt if they got to close to me. Like them, I wasn't scared, but I wasn't scared because I had faced much worse: ebon-clad soldiers, beasts... and even dragons. Drunken men in a dark alley didn't scare me, but I wanted to avoid any conflict or attention.

"Why are ya so cold, pretty lady," slurred the man to my left.

"We ain't gonna do nothin' bad to ya," said another one.

"Where are ya from?"

"Isn't it obvious, mate?"

"She ain't a Daein lass, she looks too sweet."

I really didn't like where this was going.

"That she does." They all stopped dangerously close to me, and the only thing keeping them at bay was the tip of my weapon.

"Are ya a Begnion girl, lassie?"

"She don't look stuck-up like one of 'em Begnion folk."

"That's too bad. She must be one of 'em damn Crimeans!" That man pushed my lance aside with his bare hand, and charged clumsily at me. I slammed my shield against his head making him stagger back. Then, I kicked him on the chest without holding back too much, and he fell backwards like a rock. I noticed that he stopped breathing normally, and started wheezing instead. The first thing that came into my mind was how truly glad I was that this happened away from the public eye.

I blocked the man to my left with my shield, and the one to my right with lance. I delivered a blow to the middle man's head with my own helmeted one. His hands shot up to cover his face to stop the bleeding. He also muffled his screaming with his hands. He started running around screaming until he ran right into nearby wall, knocking him unconscious. I saw a small glint of fear in the eyes of the remaining two men, but they continued trying to push me back.

Lucky for me, these guys didn't seem to know squat about fighting, and they were intoxicated, meaning a veteran gal like me had a chance against these big guys.

I raised my lance and shield above my head. The two men I was holding back stumbled forward, almost falling. In one swift motion, I dropped my weapon and shield, and turned around. I quickly grabbed the back of both their necks, and bumped their heads together; the sound from this action had been most sickening. I released my grip on their necks. They both dropped to their knees, and they lost consciousness a moment later.

Before leaving, I went over to the one that was bleeding. I knelt next to him to make sure I didn't crack his skull open. I didn't, but apparently I must've hit him too hard since he had a big wound on his forehead. I couldn't leave with this hanging on my conscience; the man could've been a father. I took out my vulnerary container, dipped my thumb on its medical content, and rubbed the medicine on his wound. The wound started closing after just a moment of applying the vulnerary. I could now leave without too many worries, not that I was about to leave them like that and cross my fingers hoping that they didn't suffer any permanent injuries.

After grabbing my dropped equipment, I ran out of there.

The first thing I did was to contact the elderly doctor that sold me the vulnerary who conducted his business from his modest home. I told him I found five men in need of medical attention because they had been beaten a few streets down. He seemed worried about the situation, and started packing supplies. He asked me if could help him, but I told him that I couldn't due to pressing matters; those pressing matters included not risking the possibility of one of them waking up, recognizing me, and getting me into trouble with the authorities.

"Thanks for yer help," I said.

"Excuse me, miss."

"Yes," I said. I was hoping he wouldn't start small talk since I was in a hurry.

"I met a nice young girl that had that same accent of yours. You wouldn't happen to know her? She also bought medicine from me a few days ago."

_Could it be? The trail went cold a week ago, _I thought.

"Doctor, was this a short girl with brown hair?" I asked a little too excited.

"Yes. She had pigtails. She was also wearing a ton of armour. I hope a young girl like her isn't looking for a fight, 'tiss dangerous times to be wandering 'round Daein."

"Would ya happen to know where she went?"

"I think she was talking about finding her fiancé near the desert. Kids today are getting married too early," he rambled. "The desert is to the east."

"Thanks for the information." I left before the elderly man had a chance to speak again. It was rude of me to behave in such a manner, but pleasantries were the farthest thing from my mind, especially since I was just attacked.

I had planned to stay the night in that town, but the information I received from the doctor might turn obsolete if I wasted a single moment.

I went to the inn I had been staying on to pick up my belongings: my pouch filled with silver and gold coins, dark cloak, spare lance, and bag full of dried meat.

With my cloak around me, lances strapped to my back, and pouch and bag tied around my waist, I took my leave of that town. And I was glad to have left, the wilderness was much nicer and safer than any Daein settlement I visited since crossing the Crimea-Daein border.

As I headed east, I finally started thinking how ridiculous my situation was, and how I wasn't supposed to be in Daein. A month earlier, my friend and battlefield partner, Brom, left our hometown to sell his crops in Crimea's capital. He asked me to watch over his youngest daughter while he was away – he was concerned because she had tried to run away once before. But despite my vigilance, she managed to escape one night. Without giving it too much though, I left the safety of my village, Ohma, to pursue the daughter of one of my closest friends; leaving my own family to be worried about my safety.

I've known Meg, Brom's daughter, since she was but a wee toddler. The thought of her running around this dangerous country scared me silly. For some reason, Daein wasn't the same as I remembered it from the Mad King's War. Sure, they weren't hospitable back then, after all, I was part of an invasion force. But the hatred and desperation I saw in the eyes of the Daein citizens that figured out I was Crimean was something that wasn't there three years ago. Not that Daein people would receive the warmest of welcome in Crimea, but they wouldn't be treated like… like how Crimeans used to treat the Laguz.

I just hoped that I would find Meg safe and sound. I truly wanted to find her, and get the heck out of Daein... Something big was going to happen, I could feel it.

XXXX

The desert's cold night air made my old bones ache, more than usual whenever I wore my heavy armour. Despite my discomfort, I kept a strong composure in front of my much younger companions. I doubted that the ten ex-soldiers that were accompanying would've judged me too harshly had I let on how the cold air was making me feel, they all knew my prime had been decades ago, and they all knew that I was but a shell of my former self. Maybe it was my pride or my foolishness, but I wouldn't show weakness in front of ten men that were risking their very lives because I had asked them to join me in what could've easily been a trap to lure in possible threats to the Occupation Army.

Perhaps we were all crazy, or at least they were all crazy to follow an old senile soldier to the desert in search for "King Ashnard's son". No... We were desperate. For the first time in three long and dreadful years we received news that could possibly bring hope for Daein's future, and we were ready to act upon anything could've released Daein from the shackles of the oppressive Begnion Empire.

That's why ten former members of King Ashnard's Imperial Guard accompanied me to Daein's most hellish place. It was because we wanted to hope for a better future... or at the very least, stick it to those damn imperials for as long as we could. How I hated Begnion for what they did to my beloved country.

With each passing day, I've started to regret my role in Daein's downfall.

The clanking of our armours filled the silence of the desert. It reminded me of the many marches I've been on my long military career. The sound was like music to my ears, sweet harmonious music. I enjoyed it during the entire trip. It was one of the things that kept me going through the desert, and the sound was a most welcomed distraction from the constant beating the sandstorm was giving us.

On that night, we arrived at the ruins of the desert. It was a most welcomed sight, for me, it meant that we weren't tricked into a trap.

Even though the large structure was clearly in decay due to what I assumed was hundreds of years of lack of maintenance, it was still magnificent to look at. It was tall and wide, it barely had any windows, and the only entrance was pretty minuscule compared to the rest of the building. It seemed perfect for defending something or someone, but at the same time it looked like a perfect place to set up a trap.

When we reached the entrance, I noticed the walls were filled with strange markings I couldn't recognize. I wondered if this building was built by Laguz since its architecture wasn't like any I had seen before.

"Wyvern!" shouted one of the soldiers.

In a matter of seconds, all of them had readied their weapons. It was the typical reaction I came to expect from Daein soldiers: kill first, and ask questions later.

"Stand down," I ordered. They lowered their weapons without hesitation.

I looked up to see that there was indeed a wyvern flying above us. The beast looked like it was tamed since it wasn't screeching wildly, or looking at us like we were its next meal. Even if I couldn't see a rider on top of it, the signs of one being there were obvious. The wyvern landed on the plateau behind us, and I saw not only the beast's rider, but also an extra passenger. The rider was a young red-headed woman armoured-up in crimson plates. I recognized her as the promising daughter of the deceased Lord Shiraham, Jill Fizzart. The passenger was a gray-haired mercenary named Zihark, whom I remembered as a talented swordsman from the Crimean Liberation Army.

They both hopped out of the wyvern to greet us. Jill left her weapon on her mount, but Zihark kept his right hand resting on the hilt of the sheathed sword on his hip. The soldiers didn't lower their guards, if anything, they raised it by circling around Zihark, Jill, and I when they approached me.

"General," Jill greeted me with a genuine smile, "I'm so glad you've made it." She saluted. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

"No need for that," I told her, and she resumed her normal posture.

I extended my arm to her. She looked slightly bewildered, but she recovered after a moment and shook my hand. I shook Zihark's hand as well once I released Jill's.

"Come with us, I believe Lord Izuka should still be up," Jill said. She whistled sharply, signaling her wyvern to fly off to somewhere I didn't see.

When we entered the ruins, the ex-imperial guards that came with me stayed behind as Jill and Zihark lead me deeper into the empty and dark corridors of the massive structure. The halls were undecorated except for some torches that offered orange light in the dark. Sand oozed visibly from the cracks in the walls, slowly filling the floor. I was already sick of all the sand surrounding me, the amount on my person was more than enough to make me uncomfortable. Lord Izuka must've thought that the ruins were a great hideout due to it being so far away from civilization, but it was also an inconvenience to us to be right in the middle of nowhere.

"Tell me, how many forces do we have at our disposal?" I asked.

"Counting us, and the ten men that you just brought, we have a total of thirteen," Zihark replied.

"Lord Izuka has been most careful about recruiting," Jill said. "For the past couple of days, Zihark and I have just been serving as the Prince's bodyguards. But we've increased the chances of success by adding your strength to our cause."

I was flattered by her faith in me, not that I truly believed that I would be such a great asset. I believed that the future of Daein should be left to a younger and more idealistic generation, but I wanted to offer my strength… one last time.

"What's with all the noise!" echoed the high-pitched scream of an old man. "I need absolute silence for my genius to be at its full potential."

"It's him," they moaned in unison.

Although I hadn't seen Lord Izuka in many years, I had no trouble recognizing the voice of the vainest man I ever had the displeasure of meeting.

"Would someone care to explain why aren't the two of you vigilantly watching out for the Prince's safety," said Izuka as he emerged from the shadows, dragging a heavy purple coat through the sandy floor.

Zihark looked away in disgust when Izuka was in our field of vision. On the other hand, Jill straightened up even more.

"Lord Izuka, please accept our apologies. Zihark and I left our post to escort..."

Izuka averted his gaze from Jill to me. He grinned wickedly, revealing his yellow rotting teeth.

"Splendid!" he shouted, interrupting Jill. "It's so good that you've come, General Bryce. Come, come, we have much to discuss. We must shape the future of our grand country."

I cleared my throat before speaking. "You must have me confused, Master Izuka, I'm General Tauroneo," I corrected.

"What! What happened to Bryce?" His grin was replaced by a scowl.

"My old friend died three years ago during the last battle of the war." _Because I killed him, _I thought with remorse.

"What a pity," said Izuka, wrinkling his features even further.

"Indeed. General Bryce was a great soldier, and a good friend."

"Not that, you fool!" he shouted again. "I asked for one of King Ashnard's Four Riders, instead I get some washed-up old man who couldn't keep his position."

_I'm not so old that I can't break your slimy neck! _I thought as anger rose to my head.

"Girl," he pointed at Jill with his scrawny index finger, "I told you to get me one of the Four Riders. Someone like Petrine, the Black Knight... or Bertram! Yes! Someone find Bertram!"

"I'm afraid you'll have to settle with me," I said trying to keep the annoyance out of my tone. "They all died."

"How Daein has fallen," he said solemnly. "At least I'm still here and ready to offer my amazing genius!"

His shifting personality was already getting on my last nerve.

"I'll have to appoint you Supreme Commander of Daein's forces. My brilliance will make up for any shortcomings our military might experience."

"Of course," I said. I could feel a vein in my head pulsing.

"I'll introduce you to Prince Pelleas in the morning. After all, the boy needs his rest, but I'll continue to working day and night until he's sitting on his throne... yes, his rightful throne." Izuka had tried to hide his chuckling under his sleeve, and failed miserably. The horrible sound that came out of that vile man still reached my ears, as well as Jill's – I noticed she was also having trouble with Izuka's presence.

I couldn't see Zihark. He must've left without anyone noticing. I couldn't blame the lad for leaving; I would've done the same thing had I been in his position.

We lost so many fine soldiers during the Mad King's War: Bryce, Shiraham, Katasai, and so many more. And when Daein needed to stand up against the tyranny of the Begnion Empire, this crazed madman was the first one to rebel. Had we fallen so deep that we had to entrust the future of our country to him? Daein used to be a proud and mighty country, and it was a country worth dying for, but it became broken and defeated after the war.

In some ways, Daein became like me.

XXXX

I wrapped my cloak even tighter around me. I remembered that Daein was a cold country during the war, but I didn't think it was always so cold. It was early summer, and I was still shacking. I originally brought my cloak to cover myself, and my armour during daytime. To say that I brought it because I knew I would need it to keep me warm would be a pretty big lie, but I was so glad I brought it with me. Thanks to it, the cold weather was much bearable.

I could see a few rays of light at a distance, and I realized I had walked during the entire night. I figured that if Meg was indeed heading east, the distance between us should've shortened quite a bit overnight. I doubted that she was expecting me to have followed her, better yet, I couldn't believe I was following her. I had so many things to do back home like watching over my baby brothers, or working in my mother's fields; instead I was in a foreign country whose inhabitants happened to be hostile to every Crimean they see.

At least I was safe as long as I stayed out of any settlement, although it could get lonely.

Right at the moment I thought about my lack of companionship, I heard rustling from a nearby bush. At first I thought it was just a critter, but more noises came from the same direction. I thought that this was either someone following me, or this animal was really persistent. I wanted it to be something cute like a rabbit or a baby fox, but I knew my luck wasn't that good.

I got my answer a moment later when a brown-haired teen jumped out of the bushes with a thin sword in his hands. He let out a battle cry, and came straight at me. I didn't see any killing intent in his movements, just foolish recklessness. I blocked his attack with my shield which had been concealed under my cloak. He looked surprised when he saw that his bluff strike had been stopped. I grabbed his sword arm's wrist, and gripped it tightly until he dropped his sword. Instead of crying out in pain, he hissed at me.

_Proud and reckless, _I thought about the boy.

I pushed him back, and quickly grabbed his sword from the ground before he had a chance to take it.

"Kid, didn't your mother teach you not to run around with swords, you could poke your eye out," I reprimanded. The teen looked at me in disbelief.

"I'm no kid! I'm Edward of the Dawn Brigade!" I vaguely remembered hearing about this 'Dawn Brigade' during my travels. "And who are you to be lecturing me?"

"Who are you to be attackin' me?" I shot back

He scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "I thought you were a Begnion soldier, and I wanted to be sure."

I sighed. "What made you think that?"

"I heard clanking," he replied.

"Lots of people wear armour." I pulled down my hood. "See?" I pointed at my helmet. "It's blue." I went over to him, and handed him his sword. "Besides, you should go around pickin' fight with soldiers, they're there to protect and serve."

Edward's hands clenched into fists, and his eyes were suddenly filled with anger. _I should've kept the sword._

"Not here they don't. In here they torment and torture," he said through gritted teeth.

I didn't know what he was talking about. Perhaps I should've tried to get to know my surroundings better since I knew literally nothing about what was going on, well, aside from the fact that I wasn't welcomed, and that alone made me want to stay away from everything and everyone.

"Hey, Edward!" came a male voice that broke me out of my thoughts. A moment later, an emerald-haired lad showed up. "This isn't the time to be sociable. You're supposed to be hunting, not that it matters anymore, Leonardo just found our breakfast."

Something about his intense yellow eyes seemed very familiar, and apparently he must've thought the same thing about me when he stared at me.

"Nephenee?" he asked. We definitely knew each other from somewhere, but I still couldn't remember where or when I met him.

"You know her, Sothe?" Edward asked.

_Sothe? Wasn't he a thief General Ike used to employ? He certainly grew out of his boyish features. _

"I met her on my travels." He shook my hand, and leaned closer to me. "Don't mention the war, it's a touchy subject," he whispered in my ear.

"Gotcha," I whispered back. I wasn't going to mention the war, and I already knew the subject was taboo way before I left Crimea.

"It's good that you know her, 'cause I kinda told her I was part of the Dawn Brigade," Edward said nervously.

Sothe sighed, and slapped the back of Edward's head.

Edward rubbed the spot where Sothe stuck him. "That was uncalled for."

"Nephenee, where are you going?" Sothe asked.

"To the desert," I answered. Edward giggled as if I had said something funny, and Sothe slapped his head again.

"You're heading south."

My world came crashing down when Sothe told me that. I must've picked the wrong road due to lack of sleep.

_That's just great._


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Sorry to anyone that liked this story's prologue for my long absence. Full excuse (feel free to skip that) and notes can be found in my LJ account. Now let's continue this epic tale of Nephenee beating up guys with her manly stick and Tauroneo's awesome mustache of awesomeness. Yeah! _

_Enjoy!  
><em>

Chapter 1

I wondered what sort of person this Prince Pelleas would be. Would he be like his father? If Prince Pelleas was anything like his father, I would have no choice but to leave this place and forget about liberating Daein from the Begnion Empire. It would be highly hypocritical of me to fight for someone who is just like the man I fought against three years ago. Even though someone like Ashnard would be exactly what Daein would need to gather up morale and strength to build a mighty army, but on the long run, another Ashnard on the throne would just bring the very same misery Daein is going through at the moment. Although, not all of King Ashnard's traits were bad, in fact, I always considered him as one of the most brilliant rulers Tellius has ever seen.

During the two decades Ashnard ruled over Daein, the country experienced radical changes to point that I've served two very different Daeins during my service to my country. Before King Ashnard, Daein distinguished itself by having an army filled with the toughest soldiers in Tellius and for its lack of tolerance of Laguz. By comparison, Crimea seemed more pleasant than Daein, both economically and socially. But after King Ashnard inherited the throne, Daein went through a period that I used to think of as Daein's golden age. I could understand if most people judge King Ashnard's rule as a dark age and that the only accomplishment that the Mad King ever brought was a powerful army that he destroyed by giving foolish orders, but building that army wasn't as simple as just recruiting a few thousand Laguz-hating citizens and send them to battle.

No. He morphed – although some would say twisted – Daein to his will. Birthrights and political status had no place in Ashnard's Daein, those who were skilled and strong had the chance to ascend in Daein society. So much talent emerged from the masses when King Ashnard disregarded the traditional political system: architects, smiths, scholars, artists, and soldiers... many, many soldiers. King Ashnard managed to bloom our society, but he poisoned the minds of our people even further. How could the people not love and worship this man? I don't think I could've blamed my people when they followed King Ashnard into the depths of his own madness, after all, he brought so much to us that anyone in Daein could've claimed that Ashnard was just as blessed by the Goddess as an apostle of Begnion.

If only... if only he hadn't brought war to Tellius, King Ashanrd would've gone down in history as one of the most enlightened rulers of our time; I was sure of it!

I did not care when he stripped me of my rank as Rider of Daein, I didn't mind that he made me earn my family's fortune once again when he rose to the throne, and I didn't even flinch when I witnessed some of the monstrous things Ashnard did to the poor Laguz the had the misfortune of being captured by him. But when he sold the soul of my country for his damn dream! I-I had to throw everything away to stop him. I took an oath to protect and serve, not to seek and destroy.

And that is what I wanted as I waited to meet Prince Pelleas, another chance to serve Daein. But if this boy turned out to be just like his father, I wouldn't hesitate to stop him before he ever set foot in Nevassa, and find some other way to free Daein from Begnion's rule. I didn't know if it was possible to fight against Begnion without a descendant of the Daein Royal Family holding our banner, although I had my doubts about the authenticity of Prince Pelleas' royal heritage – it was one of those things that were too good to be true.

In fact, the only reason I dared to believe that Ashanrd did have a son was because Lord Izuka mentioned Lady Almedha in his letter. Only a handful of us knew of her existence, and majority of us that had knowledge of her importance to Ashanrd thought she had died – or killed by Ashnard – when we had stopped seeing her in the shadows of Daein's court.

I heard echoing footsteps from one of the halls that lead to the room I was in. Lord Izuka had called the 'throne room', but of all the throne rooms I've visited in my life, both foreign and domestic, this one was by far the most pathetic of all. I thought that maybe Izuka wanted to give Prince Pelleas a feel that he was indeed part of the nobility by giving him this makeshift throne room. Like a real throne room, the place was large and spacious, but it lacked the necessary decoration anyone would expect from the room where kings delivered his commands, save for a red carpet with the Daein shield engraved on it and a simple light throne at the far end of the room. Despite this being an important place for our supposed future king, to me it still looked like any other room in the structure, fragile.

I straightened up and firmly gripped my silver lance, and rested the butt of my lance on the floor. I felt a little anxious the moment I thought I would meet Prince Pelleas, only to see Jill and Zihark come in instead of whom I expected. I was slightly disappointed, not that Jill and Zihark were bad company, but I had been waiting to meet Prince Pelleas since the night before.

"Good morning, General Tauroneo," said Jill.

"Morning," Zihark said curtly.

"Good morning," I replied to them both. "I would beg a question, if I may?"

"Of course," Zihark said.

"Have any of you met Prince Pelleas?" I asked. I figured they must've at least introduced themselves when they offered their services.

"We have, and we've seen glimpses of him every now and then," Zihark said.

Jill scratched the back of her neck. "But before we had a chance to get know him, Lord Izuka cut our meeting short and holed him back into a remote corner of this place with his mother."

"Sometimes I question who is really in charge," Zihark muttered.

"Zihark!" Jill exclaimed.

"We've been getting yelled at by that guy since arriving here. Not once has Prince Pelleas given us an order, and he can't see us unless he has permission from the genius that is Lord Izuka," Zihark said calmly. I figured that he obviously resents something about Izuka, though I was impressed by how he spoke about him with a neutral tone.

"You shouldn't judge him so harshly, he is doing a lot for Daein," Jill said in defense of a man that I thought no one would ever defend.

"I'm sorry, Jill. I've just heard some disturbing rumours about him," he apologized, being slightly dismissive of Jill. I wondered what rumours he heard, because there are a lot of them and none of them flattering.

I figured I should change the subject, the last thing we needed was for Izuka to walk in while we discuss how he operates.

"What was your impression of Prince Pelleas?" I inquired, this time I was more specific about what I wanted to know.

Both of them looked hesitant about answering my question, although I figured it was because they did not want to talk about someone they had barely any contact with. Jill was the first one to break the awkward silence.

"H-he seems well-intentioned." I noticed she was cautious about the words she chose.

"A bit naive," Zihark said, and Jill didn't argue this time. "We don't know about his upbringing, but it's pretty noticeable that he didn't grow up as a noble." I found Zihark's statement odd. I wasn't sure what he meant by what he said.

"Queen Elincia was a humble woman for the daughter of a monarch. Prince Pelleas situation is similar to hers; wouldn't they act alike due to being raised away from the court?"

"It's different," Jill began after glancing back to make sure no one was behind her. "Queen Elincia was respectful of everyone in the Crimean Liberation Army, but she had the mannerism of a noble. Prince Pelleas bowed his head when we met him." She glanced back again. "His dialect, well..."

"He sounded like me, someone from the streets of Nevassa." Zihark finished for her. Jill looked uncomfortable when Zihark spoke, unlike Zihark himself whom had kept his cool. Poor girl must've felt self-conscious about her being raised in a completely different world than Zihark's, not that Zihark seemed to notice this, in fact, I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that he thought of her as an equal.

I found what they said about Prince Pelleas interesting. They got the impression that he was a peasant. For a moment I thought that Prince Pelleas might be a fake. I could imagine King Ashnard hiding Lady Almedha and their son from the public eye to avoid anyone spotting and exploiting his weaknesses, but in that case Pelleas should've been raised by his mother – a proper lady who would've taught her son how nobles behave. Now, if Pelleas had somehow taken away from his mother and lost all connection with his roots, how could we be sure that he was the real prince? Perhaps I was thinking too much on the matter, but something about the whole ordeal didn't add up, then again, some discrepancies were nothing when measured against the future of my country.

I told myself to stop being so paranoid. The similarities between Queen Elincia's and Prince Pelleas stories troubled me, and then I just accepted it as a very convenient coincidence.

I lacked Lavega's righteousness, Bryce's unquestionable loyalty, or Gawain's amazing strength and skill. Why was I the one still alive? Anyone of them could've handled this situation much better than I.

XXXX

"If you follow this road, you should reach Kisca in half a day. When you reach Kisca, head east and you should reach a town relatively close to the desert in a week if you decide to go on foot." A man named Nolan told me as we both stood in the middle of the stone roads that lead to county of Kisca. "But if you don't find your friend there, I suggest you turn back and forget about it. I've heard terrible things about the desert, going there alone sounds like suicide to me."

"Thank ya very much," I said bowing my head quickly.

Nolan sighed before speaking. "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay with us for a while longer?" This had been the third time he tried to persuade me from leaving. "I know that it's hard to believe what we've told you about the Begnion Empire, but please believe this, it's dangerous to be alone."

Unlike his younger companions, Nolan was much more calm and thoughtful. He was much, much thoughtful than Edward when I told them that I had to leave. Edward was disappointed because he thought his "Dawn Brigade" lost a fellow fighter, while Nolan was worried about my well-being as a lost and uninformed foreigner. I considered the fact that Nolan's the leader of this band of freedom fighters as a great thing because they'll live longer if they were going against the most powerful country in the continent - I hoped long enough for them to reconsider this foolish quest.

"I appreciate yer concern, Nolan," I said. "But I doubt the rest of ya'll would be happy to spend more time with me."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about Edward. He'll get over the fact that you beat him, in fact, it was good thing because it should humble him a bit."

Edward didn't bother me at all, actually, I liked him. "I got three brothers like him. I..." I decided against saying what I was about to say. "I just don't want to intrude, me bein' Crimean and all," I lied, not wanting to speak ill of the person that bothered me during my short time with the Dawn Brigade.

"Oh, you noticed?" He looked down for a moment. "She was acting strange, but I'm sure something else was bothering her. Please don't think badly of Micaiah." Something else? The silver-haired mage of the Dawn Brigade kept looking at me as if she was expecting me to pull a knife and stab someone!

A blind cow would've noticed that my presence bothered – maybe even irritated – Micaiah. Sothe noticed it too and whispered something in her, but whatever he said didn't stop her discomfort.

"Miss Micaiah wasn't bothering me." She was rapidly getting on my nerves.

Nolan must have seen through my lie when he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Nephenee, you don't have to fight with us should the situation call for it, but going on alone can be dangerous. We're even going in the same direction. Just give us a few hours to prepare and we'll go with you."

I shook my head. "I'm very sorry. I have to reach the desert as soon as I can." I bit my lower to stop myself from continuing speaking.

"Is that all?" he asked. I got the feeling he already knew, so I decided to tell him.

"I can't be with you guys," I admitted after a few moments of hesitation. I looked away. "You fight against Begnion... and I and every Crimean owe a huge debt to them for helpin' us during the war. I just can't believe that the people fought and gave their lives for my country could be capable of all the horrible things Sothe described to me."

Torture? Imprisonment? Kidnapping? Murder? How could I believe that there's an evil side to the country that helped liberate Crimea without any strings attached?

"Of course," he began. "I had trouble believing King Ashnard was a murderous tyrant." And I thought someone as smart as Nolan would've figured that out with ease. "Think about this, if you will. You didn't hear what the Begnion has been doing to Daein from Edward, Leonardo, Micaiah, or me. Instead you heard it from Sothe, someone who served with the same people you did, and someone who has seen that very same good side of Begnion you saw."

"I..." I was speechless. Everything he said made sense. I could doubt everyone in the Dawn Brigade except Sothe. I wasn't Sothe's buddy during the war, but General Ike trusted him, and Ike's a great judge of character. "I still can't."

He put his hand on my armoured shoulder, and I looked up to see him with a small smile. "I understand, but do take care of yourself." He sighed again. "I'm sorry if I sound like a patronizing old man." He rolled his eyes. "I get that a lot from Edward." I put my hand over my mouth to suppress a chuckle. "I just don't want to hear something bad happened to you and have that on my conscience."

I nodded.

"Wait!" shouted the blonde archer of the Dawn Brigade from the nearby forest. When Leonardo came into view, he was breathing heavily and sweating. "Nolan, we can't let her leave." He pointed at me.

"No one said she was joining us, Leonardo."

"I know that! She knows our faces, our location and where we are going." He looked at me with an emotionless expression, but his voice had a slight hint of anger. "She can't leave because it's dangerous for us."

Nolan frowned. "You have a point." He took a step away from me and closer to Leonardo. "She's a threat, isn't she?" I detected some sarcasm in his voice.

"Y-yes. And with Begnion on our tail..."

"What do you suggest we do?" Nolan asked sternly.

"Umm, I-I, well..." Leonardo said shakily.

"Should we tie her up?" Leonardo's eyes widened and shook his head. "You're right. A veteran like her would get away easily. Kill her?"

"Nolan! No! I would never suggest such a thing. That's something..."

"Begnion would do?" Nolan finished for him. "I thought we're fighting against them and what they've done to us." Nolan didn't sound angry or mad, instead he sounded like a parent explaining his kid the difference between right and wrong.

Nolan looked back. "Take care of yourself," he said before going back to the woods.

Leonardo was blushing and looking at his feet. "I didn't mean... I'm just worried."

"It's okay," I told him reassuringly. "Goodbye." I pulled my cloak's hood over my helmeted head for further warmth

Leonardo was still looking down when I left a moment later. I only spent a few hours with the members of the Dawn Brigade, but I doubt Nolan wanted to embarrass his friend. They kind of reminded me of the Greil Mercenaries because they seemed like a very close bunch, and apparently they didn't mind the overwhelming odds against them. I also got the impression they were very nice, even Micaiah. Maybe Micaiah's reaction towards me was completely natural – maybe the acceptance of the other members was weird. Back when Jill joined General Ike's mercenary company, everybody treated her differently – including myself – for being from Daein, and being a Daein soldier didn't help; but after months of fighting with her, we all noticed that she was just as dedicated as everybody else and maybe more than most.

They called us brave when we took on the Daein Army with the numbers we had before reaching Begnion, but taking on Begnion with a mage, rogue, fighter, archer and myrmidon? I think they have crossed the fine line that separates bravery from stupidity.

I groaned very un-lady like out of frustration. I just wanted to come in, fine Meg and drag her back to Crimea if I had to. I did not know if I was close or not to finding my friend's daughter, I did have an idea of what was happening in Daein – something I did not care for before and after I crossed the border. For some unknown reason to me, I kept ending up in situations that practically forced me to face the fact that Daein was miserable... but it didn't mean that Begnion was the cause for Daein's troubles. Maybe the Dawn Brigade blamed Begnion because they couldn't blame their own country for its own sad fate.

As I kept walking in solitude through Daein's cold weather, thoughts of the state of Daein and the Dawn Brigade thankfully started to leave my head. Everything was going rather smoothly and uneventful until I spotted soldiers clad in crimson armour patrolling the roads. Although, of all the patrols I've seen in my life, this one looked pretty aggressive. They held their weapons tight, ready for battle. I realized that these guys were probably looking for the Dawn Brigade, and I also realized that the Goddess must not like me very much if I had to run into these guys after only meeting their targets a few hours earlier.

I desperately wanted to head back, but they had seen me before I could entertain the idea of running away unnoticed. And even though I'm confident that with my speed I could outrun them before they get too close, running would look suspicious. Not to mention that by retreating, I might've lead them straight to the Dawn Brigade.

I started to feel very nervous as six of them approached me. Why? I wasn't sure why. Why was I afraid of Begnion soldiers? These people helped liberate my country, they're allies... right?

"Hey, bloke, pull down that hood of yours," said one of the soldiers in the middle with a rough and deep voice. I did as he told me, hoping they would see a simple country girl that's passing by and nothing else.

One of them grinned. "Awfully pretty for a bloke, wouldn't you say?"

"Where are you from, lass?" Another one asked.

I gulped hard, trying to find the courage to answer. For some reason, I was very intimidated. "Crimea," I answered.

"I'm sure you know this," the same soldier said, taking a couple of steps towards me, "we helped your country in its hour of need."

"I know that," I said. As if my body was acting on its own, I took a step back. "And we are all very grateful."

"Maybe you should show us some of that gratitude."

I started to examine their weapons and trying to figure out a way to fend them off if things got ugly before saying, "What do ya mean by that?"

"What's going on?" Someone behind the group of soldiers shouted.

"Damn! I was hoping that he'd take while longer to get here." The soldier closest to me whispered.

The crimson clad soldiers moved out of the way to reveal who I assumed was their leader, a tall man with burgundy-coloured hair and matching armour. His sharp features and strong build indicated that this man must be one of those blue blood officers that the Begnion Army is filled with – or so I've heard. When I looked up at the burgundy clad soldier I felt almost as intimidated as when I glanced at King Ashnard of Daein from afar in the last battle of the war. It didn't help ease my worries when I saw him holding a steel greatlance.

This man... this man that I knew nothing of was bad news. Somehow I knew that much without truly knowing anything about him.

"General Jarod, we found this girl..."

"Silence! I can see that, you twit." The man eyed my lances. "Lock her up with those other two women we found the other day. She can keep that boy we found company on her way there."

"What!" I almost shouted. "I've done nothin' wrong. Ya can't put me away like some criminal." I was so shocked at what was happening that I was actually talking back to them. I mean, it was utterly ridiculous! He had no reason to put me in jail!

"You see, dear," he said smugly, "you are carrying weapons, and from the looks of it, a very dangerous weapons. That's not allowed here, because I make the rules."

"This are for protection," I said, stupidly trying to reason with an obviously unreasonable man.

Jarod smirked. "Why would you need protection? Me and some of Tellius finest men are here." The rest of the soldiers grunted proudly at Jarod's words. "Enough chit-chat put her in prison to await my pleasure."

One of the soldiers grabbed my armed. Out of instinct, I punched his face as hard as I could and slipped my arm away from his grasp.

"You," Jarod signaled a heavily armoured soldier with a sword, "attack her, but don't kill her."

Without hesitation, I stabbed the soldier Jarod had sent to attack me in the chest when he was in range and right after he unsheathed his sword. The rest of the soldiers retreated a bit when they saw what I did to their comrade. All except Jarod, who quickly approached his dying soldier from behind. Jarod grabbed the man's neck with his shield arm and pushed him harshly out of the way with my lance still in his torso, thus disarming me.

I didn't even get a chance to reach for my spare lance or even to feel fear out of my situation as Jarod stabbed me with his own lance right into my left shoulder.

The pain...

The pain... it was unbearable.

My senses went to hell, all of them. The next thing that I could actually make out of my situation was Jarod right behind me suffocating me with a piece of cloth.

It all went dark.

_AN: Two notes I'm putting here and not in LJ._

_I am NOT setting Mary Sue... I mean Micaiah to be a sort villain character . I am NOT! Neph won't steal her thunder, nor does Michaia feel any sort of jealousy towards Neph. It's a plot issue that's related to her powers to see the future. The original version of this chapter had a scene that kind of explained why she acted sort of anti-social, but it was a sloppy scene, and there wasn't a decent way to put it this early on._

_I know the ending isn't as colourful as it could be. But come on, it first person POV. I mean, when I get hurt I go "Ouch, this hurts". Who goes "And pain jolted through my entire being, especially on where I was hurt. That part of me felt as it was on fire"?_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Warning: this chapter does have some pretty dark parts... I'm actually kinda concerned I wrote this..._

_Notes can be found on my livejournal account... maybe.  
><em>

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 2

Izuka had taken so long to arrive with Prince Pelleas that Jill had to leave us to feed her wyvern, leaving Zihark and I to continue waiting in silence. Maybe two hours or slightly less had gone by after Jill and Zihark arrived to keep me company. I do not know if Lord Izuka enjoys making people wait for him like some of the most arrogant nobles in Begnion do, but if I continued to just stand and force small talk with Zihark I would be forced to simply leave. There were several things that needed my attention, like getting acquainted with any other forces Izuka gathered. A lot of work needed to be done if Daein is to be free from the grubby hands of those vile corrupted worms the people of Begnion call senators.

Part of me wanted to start unifying our men and women under the Daein banner to fight the enemy of all Daeins, and another side of me simply wanted to take to the field regardless of how large or small our forces turned out to be. I stood idly for three years watching Daein rot until it reached the sad state it finds itself at the moment. I desired to plunge my lance right into the hearts of my enemies, but that can't be done if Izuka insisted that everyone else's time is dirt when compared to his own schedule. To think that my country was once feared by even the powerful empire of Begnion, only to be reduced to a shadow of its former self. And to add insult to injury, only that madman seemed to be the only one with the capacity and resources to restore Daein's lost dignity.

Thinking of my desire to free Daein made me realize that I wasn't the only one that wanted to fight. Zihark and Jill were already serving Prince Pelleas way before I offered my lance. I could understand Jill's reason for serving under the prince of Daein without actually asking her. Her father dedicated twenty years to this country and died for it. Wanting to protect something that was precious to one's father is something I used to be able to relate to... But Zihark's presence puzzled me. I believed he was a mercenary during the time I served with him, and a man that despised racism towards laguz. I'm not sure what convinced him to join a group that wanted to liberate a country that was well known for its mistreatment of laguz.

I glanced at him. Zihark was leaning against the wall farthest from me, he head low and eyes closed. To be honest, he doesn't appear to be much just by looking at him. Skinny fellow without a whole lot of upper body strength, but what I have seen him do in the battlefield speak volumes about his skill with the blade. It's also hard to tell that he's a talented swordsman when he's always wearing ragged clothes of a common sellsword... he's actually a lot like Gawain's son.

"Zihark," I called my companion.

He opened his eyes and straightened up. "Yes?"

"I want to ask you a personal question, may I?" I asked hoping to not sound intrusive.

"Of course, but my answer will depend on just how personal your question is," he replied. _He's a smart man._

"Why are you here?" I asked. "I may not know much about you, but I doubt coin would purchase your services if you had a moral problem about working for the Daein Royal Family."

He chuckled lightly. "Poor Jill had originally hired me. She wanted to pay me the amount of money it would take to hire a professional team."

"I guess you refused payment," I concluded.

"Yes," he confirmed. "She said that she had plenty of money from her father's fortune." He raised an eyebrow. "I saw through that lie."

"Governor Numida," I spat, "impounded everything."

"Exactly. She eventually told me what the job was, and I told her I would work for free," he paused, "provided I'm supplied with swords. Sadly, I don't have the luxury of buying weapons with my own gold."

"I'm getting off-topic," he continued. "I joined up to help Daein because Daein is where I was born and raised. Besides, I have the ability to do something, and that alone is reason enough for me to get involve with this – even if it sounds far-fetched that we'll defeat the Occupation Army with what we have now."

"What about the mistreatment of laguz?" I asked.

"That is all Ashnard's fault. The people of Daein were led think ill of the laguz." He sighed. "At one point, I was like that as well, until a... a laguz changed my life." He sounded hesitant about that last part. There was no need for me to hear more about why he was with us. I knew enough. He's a good man and a talented swordsman. Men and women like him will be needed to wash away the lingering poison Ashanrd left in the hearts and minds of my countrymen.

"What about you, General Tauroneo, why are you here?" He asked. "I never heard you say 'sub-human' and from your action three years ago, I doubt you're a big admirer of our people's conduct on a few matters."

"You got a good head on your shoulders," I complimented him. That was a good question that even I hadn't asked myself. I could be somewhere else. A few senators had sent me letters asking me to join their personal armies, and the commander of Begnion's Central Army had offered me the position of his second-in-command. I was offered several chances to lead great and vast armies, yet I turned them all down... "I truly don't know why I'm here, Zihark," I finally answered. "I do know that it's not about blind patriotism, I have outgrown that."

Zihark said something, but I didn't listen. I was too consumed in my on thoughts about my purpose to continue listening. I once found the thrill of battle reason enough to gamble my life at every opportunity, but not anymore. I used to believe that protecting the Daein Royal Family was my purpose in life, yet Ashnard proved me wrong. And protecting the citizenry seemed like a worthy cause for me to continue on as a man of the military, simply to ignore their pleas for help for years until everything got out of hand. I did not seek battle, I fight for no king, and I have lost touch with my fellow countrymen.

_What exactly do I seek?_

Some of the men that came with me wanted to regain their status as knights, while others wanted revenge. I-I... Bah! Perhaps my father was right, knights are not supposed to think, just act upon the orders given to us by our sovereign lord.

The sound of clanking armour in the halls broke me away from my thoughts. The sound was far too loud to come from Jill's light armour, and none of the ex-imperial guards had any knowledge of this room. Whoever this person was, it must be someone I've not met since arriving here. _Maybe Prince Pelleas wears armour everywhere he goes like King Ashnard did._

A moment later, the tall armoured man entered where Zihark and I had been waiting for more than two hours. The first thing about thing about this person that caught my eye was the banged up ebon armour he wore. It had a few small holes in its shoulder and breastplates, and claw marks like the ones cat laguz leave on their prey. Under the armour, the man wore a gray long-sleeved undershirt that had large spots of dried blood and black trousers. A crossbow hung on his left hip and was equipped with several knifes – both combat and surgical – around his belt. The bottom half of his face was concealed by a black and white striped muffler that hung around his neck, the upper half of his face revealed a pale skinned man with jet coloured eyes and hair that was combed backwards. From what I could see of the man's face, he wasn't well – or at least, someone in good health doesn't look like him. Although most of his being was covered up by armour and that muffler, the man still looked strong and battle hardened.

"Well, well, well," the stranger spoke with a deep and almost... liquid sounding voice, "the last of the Steadfast Riders comes to help Daein in its hour of need."

"You have me at a disadvantage, stranger. You seem to know who I am, but I do not know who you are," I said cautiously. Something about him seemed unnatural. Actually, a lot of things seemed unnatural just by looking at him.

"You wound me, General Tauroneo." He placed his hand on his chest, and spoke with a mocking tone. "Do you not remember me? Your faithful deputy that slaved under you for four years until King Ashnard replaced you with Bertram."

I was shocked when he said that. Zihark was also surprised; I saw his eyes widened as soon as the man revealed to have been one of my soldiers.

"Soldat?" I asked. That was the name of my last lieutenant as a Rider of Daein.

"You do remember me!" he said with mock delight.

I was having trouble believing him. Soldat... he was supposed to be dead. The army I commanded had been given to Bertram when he became on of the Four Riders, but Soldat became Bryce's lieutenant when that happened. I saw him fight in the last battle of the war. I saw him being cut down by Ike himself.

"What's the matter, General Tauroneo?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I scoffed. "Not a ghost, but I think I'm looking at a corpse." I started to see the resemblance, although he looked much paler than before.

"I see you have developed a sense of humour. I guess you need it to live with yourself after plunging your lance straight into the heart of your old friend and comrade, am I right?" I could almost see him smirk under that muffler.

"You are way out of line, Soldat!" Zihark fumed.

Soldat was right about one thing: it is hard living with the fact that I killed one of my closest friends.

"Zihark, do not get angry," I said. "What's done is done, and I don't regret my actions."

"You know what's interesting?" Soldat asked, apparently still looking to pick a fight with me. "How people like the two of you who brought Daein down, now stick together and want to rebuild it."

"Ah, yes, Zihark," Soldat continued. "I remembered the other day seeing you fight against the country you want help right now. Quite frankly, I'm worried about surrounding Prince Pelleas with traitors like you and Shiraham's daughter."

"What are you doing here?" I asked impatiently. First Izuka doesn't show up, and then one of my former soldiers decides to make an appearance and throw vague insults at me and Zihark.

"Me? What I have always done, my duty," he said proudly.

"You know damn well what I meant, and where is Izuka?" I almost shouted.

"You mean Lord Izuka. He will eventually come, don't fret. Apologies for our tardiness, there are some sub-human pests around this desert, and I made sure that they wouldn't be a threat to our prized Prince Pelleas. Lord Izuka was making sure that I had done my job properly."

I looked at Zihark, only to see him with his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. "They are called laguz," he said through his teeth, "and who are you and Izuka as well to go around killing laguz as you please."

"You have misunderstood me, Zihark. I haven't killed any sub-hum-I mean Laguz," Soldat said. "Lord Izuka would be furious with me if he found out I started hunting laguz as if they were beast. He believes that all of them have purpose, and that killing them like our beorc brothers have been doing for centuries would be a waste."

"So what exactly did you do?" Zihark inquired with a more passive tone.

"As I've said, I made sure that they wouldn't be a threat to Prince Pelleas," Soldat repeated.

Judging by Zihark's expression, it looked like he thought Soldat simply scouted the area to make sure the Laguz weren't hostile, but I read between the lines of what he said. What Soldat did to those laguz is far crueler than death.

I wanted to tell Zihark that he shouldn't believe what he said, but that would only bring tension – and possibly violence – between them. Besides, I cannot judge what Soldat and Izuka have done, for I have also hunted laguz for Izuka's experiments in the past.

"You seem awfully fond of Izuka, care to explain why?" I asked. This person wasn't the Soldat that had served with me. He always had that damn sharp tongue of his, but he was never so dark.

"He is my saviour!" he answered. "It is thanks to him that I stand before you. That and the fact that the enemy general wasn't competent enough to kill me when he had the chance."

"He is the son of the greatest general Daein has ever seen!" I exclaimed.

"No. He is the son of the biggest traitor in Daein history," Soldat countered. "But what can you expect? Not only did Gawain abandon us, he spawned the bane of our existence."

"Begnion is our enemy," I said.

"We were in good terms with them until he came along." I could see that arguing with him was as pointless as arguing with Izuka.

"Believe what you want. Where is Izuka?"

"He cannot join us at the moment. He is preoccupied with important business. This of course means that you will not be meeting Prince Pelleas until Lord Izuka has the time."

I was about to demand him to take me to see Ashnard's son when I heard a female voice from Behind Soldat.

"Nonsense!" she said. "If this man is to become my son's protector, he will meet him now."

Behind Soldat stood a beautiful woman dressed in a long black dress. She had the darkest green hair I've seen in my life, piercing red eyes, and tanned skin. I recognized Ashnard's concubine instantly, how could I not? She looked just as she did twenty-five years ago. Physically, she had not aged a single day, meaning this was a near identical impostor or she was not a Beorc as I once believed her to be.

"Lady Almedha! I did not hear you..."

"Your voice irritates me," Almedha interrupted. "Go and cry to your master if you are not going to help me."

"Lord Izuka must be present if..."

"Are you deficient?" Almedha asked with a straight face. "Go to your master, I will introduce Sir Tauroneo to my son."

Soldat's forehead wrinkled and he left without saying another word.

Zihark chuckled. "I wanted to do that since he got here. Thank you, Lady Almedha."

His gratitude fell on deaf ears, for Lady Almedha ignored him and locked eyes with me.

"Is that you, General Tauroneo?" she asked. She must have been expecting me with dark hair, stronger build, and shaven face - after all, that is how she must remember me.

"It has been a long time, and age does deal a heavy blow on all of us," I said. "Or perhaps not all."

She ignored my last statement. "I'll be back shortly with my son. I simply wanted that man gone before he came to meet you." She left as quickly as she came.

I raised an eyebrow. "The prince uses his mother to drive out unpleasant people?"

"She's far more intimidating than him," Zihark said.

"This is the only woman in Tellius that had the courage to be with Ashnard, of course she is intimidating, but I thought their son would be twice as scary," I said.

"He is a nice person. I guess he skipped that trait." We both shared a laugh before Lady Almedha returned with a young man next to her.

The boy whom I assumed was the person I had been waiting for quite a while was a slim young lad dressed in extravagant clothing – a blue silk tunic, along with a white silk cloak and matching trousers, and dark boots. He had a full set of unkempt curly blue hair that looked an awful lot like Ashnard's. I noticed a thin mask of makeup on his face, probably an attempt to hide what was beneath it - a pale face that revealed lots of hardships, both from hunger and beatings. The boy's appearance and clothing completely contradicted each other.

He did something I truly did not expect him to do.

He smiled.

"You are General Tauroneo!" he exclaimed happily. "The last living Rider of Daein. I have heard so many stories about you." He closed the distance between us with a couple of steps, and took my right hand with both of his hands and shook it. "It is truly an honour to meet you."

I was appalled at how the boy reacted. What was truly odd was that he sounded so genuine. This was the type of praise I constantly received whenever I walked the streets of Nevassa, but never did I expect to be greeted like a hero from a blue blood.

"My dear Pelleas, General Tauroneo is here to serve you, it is he who should be grateful to meet you," said Almedha in a much softer tone than the one she had used to address Soldat.

Prince Pelleas scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, mother, but I'm meeting a living piece of Daein's history, how could I not be excited."

I couldn't help but smile. Although I was greatly flattered by his admiration, what truly made me glad about his personality was how humble he appeared to be. If he had turned out to be another typical, my servitude might have felt hollow, but at the moment, fighting for this boy that might bring Daein a fresh new start should be a worthy cause for me to return to the battlefield until I know what I truly wanted for myself.

XXXX

If he had any regrets or doubts about what he was planning on doing, they would have surely disappeared the moment he entered the room where the madman he was meeting with conducted his sick and twisted experiments. Surely something had gone horribly wrong during the course of laguz and beorc existence if this... this thing had been allowed to live for as long as it has. Izuka was more than enough proof for him to continue on with his plans – not that he had any doubts. And how ironic that the very man whose very existence sickened him to the core would happened to be a vital part for his schemes to succeed in the long run.

No window of any kind could be found on the madman's laboratory, only a few candles on top of tables with the corpses of shifted beast laguz and empty beakers brought about some very unwanted visibility. What was truly awful were not the remains of laguz located on tables, hanging from the ceiling, or even the ones in a corner that had been dissected and later thrown away like trash, but the still untransformed laguz that were being held prisoners – the ones that could see what was coming to them – were the real eyesore. Their eyes were full of fear, something that was simply not seen in any of the proud laguz races. And of course they were afraid; Izuka had robbed them of their strength with his vile torture. They were so helpless to the madman's experiments that they weren't even trapped in cages. They were chained to the wall as sign of mockery because they couldn't shift since the transformation process required strength they all lacked.

The fact that there was only one Izuka brought about some relief, but Izuka found himself that inhuman crony of his. What if Izuka wasn't just a freak of nature? What if he's actually a sign of worse things to come? That he's only the first of many like him that will eventually come? It had to stop, all of it. Everything had just gone wrong, and what better monument to humanity's downfall than the room he was standing in. Good traits and good people could be found, but the bad outweighed the good by just too much.

It pained him, but he did not look at the prisoners. If he had taken a good look at their sad starving state, he might have helped them. After all, he did have a heart, unlike the man he was going to meet with.

_Where is Izuka? I cannot bear being here much longer, _he thought with a feeling of dizziness starting to take over.

A few minutes passed before he heard Izuka and his crony approach. He was disturbingly grateful to know he was near, because he would demand to go somewhere else once they met up.

"What?" Izuka wheezed. "How could you allow that insane wench to walk all over you?" Izuka slammed his laboratory's door open. "Why did I let you keep your sense of self? You're as useless as one of my feral ones when it comes to dealing with simple tasks like this!" Izuka grabbed an empty beaker and threw it at his follower, which shattered upon impact with his breastplate.

Izuka realized that he was there and had watched the entire display once he turned around.

"You're here!" Izuka exclaimed.

"Did you forget? We agreed that we would meet today so that I may inspect your progress," he said. "It looks like you've made no progress, maybe if you stopped playing with your pets you could get something done." It took a lot out of him to say that last part.

"Who do you think you are?" Izuka's crony unclipped his crossbow from his belt and aimed it at him. He wasn't scared because it wouldn't hurt him, very few things in this world could harm him, and Izuka's crony had no way of knowing how and what to use to even try to scratch him.

"Put that thing down, you brute." Izuka tried to slap the weapon out of his hands. "This is my guest, and an important part to the revolution."

"Him? He doesn't look like much." Izuka's crony pointed at him. "Lord Izuka, with your information network..."

"He is my information network!" Izuka shouted. "Now shut up before I sow your lips together." He knew Izuka was more than capable for said task.

Izuka clasped his bony hands together. "Would you like to meet Pelleas? You will be delighted with my pick. Almedha doesn't even have a clue, and there is no way either one will suspect that their relationship is a fraud."

It also pained him that Almedha was part of this. She's the daughter of his oldest friend – if he could still be called that. Maybe if her father had been more like her, all of this could've been prevented. _Her father did what he thought was the right thing to do, and I am doing what I know is right for the entire world._

"I am not interested in meeting your latest puppet, just in the fruits of your results," he said sternly. "What is taking you so long?" Although he had all the time in the world, he really was impatient about setting things in motion around Daein. All the pieces were set, all except the country of the deceased Mad King Ashnard.

"You must understand, milord, that I need someone to inspire our troops, someone to be the very image of liberation," Izuka said. "And even if I am a genius, I lack that thing... Soldat, what's it called again?"

"Charisma," Izuka's crony answered.

"Exactly!"

"You've had more than enough time," he said with slight traces of anger in his voice.

"I did find someone, milord," Izuka said.

"Nevertheless, there is a problem with him," Izuka's crony said.

"He was the Rider that defected to Crimea's side during the war. Many call him a traitor," Izuka explained.

"And others believe that he is just as responsible for Daein's demise as Crimea's queen and her mercenary toy," Izuka's crony continued.

"I am being cautious here. If the people reject Tauroneo as their saviour, we might not have the necessary support to even retake a duchy."

"Then find another one," he said deadpanned.

"There is no one else!" Izuka shouted. Izuka quickly realized to whom he had screamed at, and tried to compose himself again. "My apologies, milord. What I meant to say is that Tauroneo is the last living Rider." He knew that Tauroneo was not the last Rider to still be alive. One more Rider still lived, but it was too premature for him to make an appearance.

"Very well, I shall lend a hand to boost the people's trust in Tauroneo. I shall arrange for this place to be attacked in a few weeks, that way you can spread the news of how bravely he defeated a platoon of Begnion soldiers," he informed.

"Thank you! You will see that..." before Izuka had a chance to finish his sentence, the deserts ruins shook violently for a split moment. He and Izuka's crony did not fall, but Izuka fell on his hunched back, which brought some degree of pleasure in witnessing that.

He sensed what caused the tremor. Sometimes he couldn't sense others of his kin, but this one was so powerful that even his almost dead sense were able to pick up on what caused the tremor. _What's black dragon doing here?_

"Our meeting ends here." With the help of his staff, he warped out of that dreadful room.

XXXX

It was almost nightfall, and the merciless heat of the desert's day was being replaced by the unforgiving cold of the desert's night. Instead of warping to his castle like he wanted to do, he warped outside the desert ruins in order to investigate the reason why a black dragon of Goldoa came to the Desert of Death. From a safe distance, he was able to spot the black dragon in his human form. He had the stature of a young beorc boy, but he wasn't able to get a good look at the dragon's face on account of his entire body being covered up by a yellow cloak. But he was able to see that the boy was holding in his arms a bloodied armoured woman with green hair.

Something about that girl seemed familiar to him.

The boy fainted before he could even take one step forward. The woman must've been unconscious as well, for she did not move once she hit the ground.

He warped closer to them now that there was no way they could see him.

The young dragon boy was fine. He must have fainted due to fatigue or something else, but the woman was in critical state. She was pale from the blood loss, she had blood everywhere – he noticed that it was not all hers – and her armour was shattered.

He leaned down and took off her helmet. He was able to recognize her after he looked at her face, although he couldn't recall her name – it's hard to remember the names of people once you've met as many as he's met.

_I guess I'll save you a second time. _He did feel like doing some good after ignoring the laguz that desperately needed the help from someone – anyone.

He did not bring any healing staves, but he didn't need one. He touched her forehead and transferred some of his magical powers to her so that her wounds would mend themselves. Once he was done healing her, he looked at the boy.

_What an interesting turn of events._

_A/N: Ok, I'm *think* I left more than enough clues for people to realize who that guy was. If not, let me know and I'll gladly say who it was in the next chapter. And yes, I will be jumping from first to third person every once in a while. I can't rewrite Radiant Dawn on only first person! It doesn't work! First person is just a gimmick for Neph and Manstache_

_*Gasp* I created an OC. Soldat is... a douchebag. He's *supposed* to symbolize the remnant of Ashnard's Daein. I just found it odd how we only got to see all the nice and good people in Daein during RD. What happened to the jerks? He'll have some importance, but I'll mainly use him to fill plot holes and stuff. I really didn't want to create him because RD has a huge cast that I have to work with (RAGE!). But I kind of wanted to have one last evil Daein walking around (Izuka doesn't count), and besides, poor Izuka needed an Igor and I was happy to give him one. His importance will vary depending of how people (reviewers) react to him. For now, he's just there._

_Soldat is French for soldier, 'cause I'm creative and stuff. And he will be the only OC in this story, just because I'm way to cool and pretty to be thinking so much._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Woo! Missed my biweekly thing by a single day. Darn. :(_

_Anyway! This chapters are slowly getting longer (I have a lot of ground to cover). But I doubt they'll be OVER 9,000! _

_Notes on my LJ account!  
><em>

_Enjoy! _

_!  
><em>

Chapter 3

"It's too soon, you fool!" Izuka exclaimed as he threw his scrawny arms in the air. "We may never recover if we lose even a portion of what little we have. Think about this: do you think we'll get supporters if we lose our first battle because we rushed things?"

I believed it was amazing how a kind-hearted man like Prince Pelleas would cling to Izuka's words, although the worst part of it all was the fact that Ashnard's son would permit this madman to speak his mind so freely and openly. I was starting to have troubling thoughts about Izuka's influence on the young man that would hopefully sit on Daein's throne. Having Izuka on Daein's side was comforting for I knew the man could get results, but he was poison, and while using poison is one of the most effective methods against one's enemies, it could still be used against the wielder.

"We may never get another chance like this," I said. "If Soldat's information is accurate, then General Jarod is in critical state, therefore the Occupation Army is unorganized. We cannot let this chance slip by us. I beg you, Your Majesty, give me the order to move out and I'll retake whichever territory you wish."

I was trying to make my case to Prince Pelleas. He sat in his makeshift stone throne with his mother to his left and Izuka to his right. He wasn't looking at me; instead he was staring at his boots. I couldn't see his face on account of his messy blue hair, but I knew he must've been deep in thought and struggling to decide whether he should order me to attack or to continue waiting until his advisor told him, the would be king of Daein, when it was the proper time to declare war on our oppressors. I could feel that this was the right time. Without Jarod in control, the Begnion forces shouldn't be able to react appropriately to an attack from an unknown enemy. I just needed Prince Pelleas to see that.

"For all we know, Soldat's information could be false. It may be a trap to lure us out," Izuka said.

"With all due respect, Lord Izuka, but my information is trustworthy," Soldat began. He had been standing a few feet behind me, apparently waiting for the opportunity to speak. "After General Jarod's sudden incapacitation, communication between the different platoons have been shaky at best. It seems his officers are incapable of maintaining order, and it won't be long before riots start spreading all over the country."

"Whose side are you on?" Izuka hissed, fingering a dark-coloured tome he was trying to conceal with his cloak.

"Y-yours, of course," Soldat answered with a muffled stutter. "I simply wanted to let everyone know that my information was accurate."

I continued speaking before Izuka could start arguing with his follower right in the middle of our discussion. "For some reason, Governor Numida has yet to find a replacement."

"Your Majesty!" I said loudly, making him look up instantly. "It would be most prudent to strike before they have a chance to find someone like or worse than Jarod, or wait until he recovers."

"It is still too premature to do anything," Soldat said. "We barely have more than a hundred soldiers, and that's counting the one we have here and our informants."

"What we lack in numbers, we make up for it in skill," I argued. I scowled at Soldat. "And what are we supposed to do? Keep sending secret invitations until we think we have enough? Someone is going to find out about us, we should at least utilize the element of surprise while we still have it." I just needed a little faith from Prince Pelleas. It was very unlike me to rush things, or to even argue for very long, but lady luck decided to grace us a little for a change, and I'll be dammed if I had just left this opportunity pass us by without trying to convince our leader to take immediate action.

"My dearest Lady Almedha," Izuka began. The concubine of Daein's late king shifted her attention from her son to her son's advisor. "Should anything go wrong, your precious son would be in danger. Maybe the entire wrath on Begnion would fall upon him."

_You vile snake! First you fill his young mind with lies, and now you would use his own mother against him._

Almedha's eyes widened the moment Izuka's words reached her. "Pelleas, surely there is no need set the revolution in motion just yet," she said sternly, yet motherly at the same time. "The people of Daein are your subjects, you shouldn't rush for them, but they should wait for you instead."

I rubbed my temples, and tried to avoid sighing. What Almedha said was the type of political nonsense I wished the new potential monarch wouldn't be exposed to, but it was ridiculous of me to hope for the impossible. All I could do was wish for Prince Pelleas to disregard such an egocentric way of thinking, and to believe that a kingdom without subjects makes a pretty pitiful country indeed. Daein needed a new way of thinking, not the same rubbish that lead it to losing to a weaker country, and later subjugated to the whim of the most corrupted group of individuals in the continent.

Pelleas hesitantly looked at his mother. I could see he wanted to argue with her, but was not brave enough to say what was on his mind – just knowing he disagreed was more than enough at the moment.

"Your Majesty, surely you haven't gone mute on us, right?" Soldat said with mock concern. He stepped forward and stood next to me, he had a hand on his armoured chest. "I know that whatever you decide upon, you will have the citizenry in both heart and mind, and know that I will support you fully should you side with the man that betrayed Daein during a crucial moment of the war or with them man that has worked tirelessly to not only find the last heir of the but to bring a bright future to us all."

I wanted to choke the life out of Soldat for trying to demonize me, and making Izuka look like a saint by comparison. I showed no signs of being disturbed by his word, for I did not regret my actions – even though a few doubts did haunt me in my sleep.

"I would usually tell my... follower to shut up, but I'm afraid he's making a lot of sense." Izuka grinned at Soldat, whom nodded in response.

"And where would we be had we allowed King Ashnard to continue on?" I challenged, gripping my shield and lance as tight as I could. "Had we lost after bringing more conflict, we would have received a more severe punishment, one that Governor Numida wouldn't need to hide from the public eye."

"But we would've ruled the world had we won," Izuka countered.

"And earn ourselves billions of enemies..."

"Enough!" Prince Pelleas finally spoke. Soldat, Izuka, Almedha, and I turned our attention to the awkward prince. "We shouldn't fight amongst ourselves when we should be fighting Begnion." The tone of his voice was low, but he was loud enough for all of us to hear.

"General Tauroneo," he addressed me, and I straightened even further out of habit of doing so whenever my liege would speak directly to me, "I know you mean well, and I can only think highly of you. It brings me a lot of joy to know that someone such as yourself cares so deeply for the people, because when I lived on the streets during Begnion's occupation, I believed that no one cared for us anymore..."

"Then I have your leave to head out." I dared to hope.

"It saddens me to tell you that I believe that Izuka is on the right." My heart ached when I heard those dreadful words. "I would want nothing more than to grant your request, but only if Izuka approves – I very much trust in his good judgment."

I did not look away, I showed no signs of disapproval nor did I try to argue even further, for I was too disappointed in his ruling to do any of those things. Had he asked for time to ponder on his options, then I would have been more at ease. I could see that Soldat wasn't the only puppet Izuka had, but the difference between Soldat and Prince Pelleas was how unaware the boy seemed to be of the fact that his strings were being pulled by a lunatic, while Soldat seemed more than happy with being Izuka's lapdog. Yet the worst part was of it all was that I visibly saw how unhappy Prince Pelleas seemed with his decision.

I guessed that he knew that it was the perfect time to strike, but he couldn't break free from the clutches of his own 'advisor'.

"As you wish," I said, trying to mask my disappointment with obedience. I lowered my head, for I could no longer bear to look at the boy's pained expression.

It was my own damn fault – I couldn't blame the boy - for not only requesting permission to move up the revolution, but for actually believing things might be drastically different with Prince Pelleas. I was an old war veteran with almost five decades of experience, what was I doing filling my head with foolish thought only a naive squire would have? At least I still believed Prince Pelleas had the makings of a good ruler, perhaps an excellent ruler if he started making his own decisions.

"I'm so glad to see that you are already making wise rulings, my boy," Izuka said delightfully. "And remember, soldiers are for fighting and not for thinking. You will start hearing your generals speak nonsense once you become king, but remember that my council is always wise and that I am your most trusted confidant. I live to serve you."

I saw Prince Pelleas give Izuka a small bow, when it should've been the other way around.

I felt nauseated at the thought of me indirectly serving Izuka, which it seemed to be what reality dictated.

"I beg your leave," I said with my head held high.

"Sure..."

"Wait!" Izuka blatantly interrupted. "Why haven't you investigated the cause of that tremor? I told you to head out into the desert and hunt down whatever caused it."

"It has been a week since then and nothing attacked us. It could have just been a short earthquake," I explained. "Besides, it would have been a waste of time and resources."

"I know better than you, soldier!" Izuka spat. "It could have been those awful sub-humans, maybe it was them that caused Lady Almedha's guest to be injured."

"Milord, the boy was fine, his clothes were just bloodied up. I don't think he was harmed," Soldat informed.

_Blast! He noticed._

"Shut up, Soldat! Important people are talking!" Izuka fumed, giving Soldat a venomous look. "As I was saying, those beasts could have followed him here, and are now plotting to kill us as we speak."

"Was that simple enough for you to understand," he continued, "or should I repeat myself, but slower this time?"

I gritted my teeth. Listening to the Mad King ramble on about strength was far more bearable than hearing Izuka utter a single word.

"I take my orders from Prince Pelleas," I challenged through my teeth.

"My orders are his orders! When will you understand?" Izuka looked at Pelleas, who was watching the entire scene before him with a look of horror. "Tell him, so that he'll stop his meaningless resistance."

"I-I..." he stammered. He ran a shaking hand through his messy hair.

"Come, Pelleas," Almedha said. She grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from his seat. "Being around this uncivilized bunch is also making me uneasy." She dragged her son away.

Izuka followed her, trying to reason with her. She kept ignoring him until I could no longer hear his voice.

"My mother was like her," Soldat said. For some reason, he decided to curse me with his company. "Although I don't think she could take on Lady Almedha – hell, I would think twice before giving her a funny look."

"I'm surprised you aren't choking to death. Just how long is your leash?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Soldat laughed. "I'm afraid our bad habits are rubbing off on you, General Tauroneo."

"Leave me be." I walked past him.

"Lord Izuka and I both believe that this is the right time to stick it to Begnion." What he said shocked me.

I turned around swiftly. "What? Then why postpone it? What's the problem?"

"You are the problem." I scowled. "You see, you're not exactly the hero-type Lord Izuka wishes for the people. What did you call yourself when you confronted King Ashnard? Was it the king killer? I was bleeding to death at the moment, but I'm positive I heard that right- not that you could've scratched our beloved and dearly departed King Ashnard."

"Just make your point," I said irritably.

"Now, I'm a simple ol' soldier that knows squat about politics, but that doesn't sound like the man I want leading the liberation."

"I agree. That doesn't sound like the hero the people need," I said solemnly. "Nevertheless, he's better than a corpse-looking man."

"Oh, I'm not interested in your position." He waved his hands dismissively. "Lord Izuka tells me to stay in the shadows, and quite frankly, it's quite cosy working from places people cannot see you."

"Then why tell me?" I inquired.

"I just wanted to inform you of your position in the world." I'm sure he must've been smiling under his muffler. "You're simply plan b. Should we find someone more... appealing, Lord Izuka won't think twice before reducing you to a mere footsoldier, but I'm sure you are used to that."

"You sure do bark a lot," I said deadpanned. "It would be for the best if someone new were to take my place. You and I are relics of old Daein, I believe it's time for people without haunting old sins to bring about a new age for us." While my mind believed what I said, my heart betrayed all rational thought. Part of me wanted to be Daein's hero and liberator, despite my shady past and many wrongdoings.

"We shall see." He moved back and sat where Prince Pelleas had been a moment ago. "Now, General Tauroneo." He rested his chin on top of his fist. "It's quite obvious that you aren't getting along with Lord Izuka, but regarding the scouting mission he... requested – maybe. I would kindly ask you to go along with this one."

"Why should I?"

"Sub-human hunting is an excellent stress-reliever." He paused. "My apologies, I forgot you went righteous on us and no longer find pleasure in one of Daein's greatest sport."

"Goodbye, Soldat." I turned around once again

"Truth be told, I need your help with this one," he said, and I stayed put. "I spotted the most peculiar sub-humans the other day, and I don't want to go run into them without having someone assisting me."

"Not interested," I said.

"That's too bad, but I'm sure Lord Izuka will be interested in hearing about the girl your friends, Jill and Zihark, are hiding." I clenched my jaw. "He'll be angry that you've allowed them to waste his resources to tend some woman that pretty much fell out of the sky."

_I can't believe he's actually threatening me, although I foresaw something like this._

"What woman?" I smirked.

"You damn well know of whom I speak of," Soldat said irritably. "The girl those two traitors have been taking care of."

"You can question them about that imaginary girl once they return." I walked out. I regretted not taking a look at the miffed expression Soldat must've had.

Jill and Zihark had objected to the idea of moving their injured comrade, but I had a gut feeling that said otherwise. I'm glad I told them to get her to the nearest town, for not only had Soldat found out about Nephenee, but the meeting with Prince Pelleas did serve for one purpose: I learned that Prince Pelleas couldn't be fully trusted – not as long as he allowed Izuka to pull his strings.

XXXX

"Are you sure you should be walking?" Kurth asked, probably concerned that my legs would give out on me... again.

"I'm okay," I lied.

I tripped a moment later.

Kurth helped get to a sitting position and dragged me to a nearby building to rest my back against the hot wooden wall. The first thing I did was spit out some sand, and then try to dust off the sand out of the clothes Jill had kindly lent me – a pair of blue trousers, a yellow tunic, and dark boots. I didn't want to ruin them, even though she had said to take them as a gift from her.

"Let's go back to the inn and wait for Jill and Zihark to come back with a doctor or a healer," Kurth said for the fourth time. He stuck me as the overly patient type of guy.

"I just want to get somethin' to drink, ya know, to keep myself hydrated 'cause of the blood loss." That was only half of it. I truly couldn't stay idle for very long, after all, I was used to working day and night. Sitting in a bed and wait for others to do everything wasn't very me-like. Not that I wasn't appreciative of what they were doing for me – I would be eternally grateful to Jill, Zihark, and Kurth for saving me. I just needed to do something... anything!

Kurth and I were near the very center of the village, and I decided to take a good look around. While I could see men a women walking around, the population was still scarce if I compared it to any village I visited on my life. The houses and very few shops I saw were made of dried up wood, and many of the structures looked like they were going to fall apart at any given moment due to lack of maintenance or the harsh weather of the desert – perhaps both. And the heat was only adding more unpleasantness to the whole damn place. At least it was midday, so the heat couldn't get any worse. If had to describe the village of Hackdirt with only one word, it would be sad. I had my doubts about my old comrades finding a doctor or a healer, because this village looked like the type of place the Church of Ashera or any doctor would shy away from.

I had enough sightseeing after just a minute or two of looking around, and I felt like giving that whole walking thing another go. I pushed the ground with my bare hands in an attempt to stand, only to fail and gain a mild headache. I barely had any strength in me, but that certainly didn't stop me from trying to do stuff, even when an overwhelming feeling of dizziness started to creep up to my head. The darnest thing was that my body was in tip-top shape, I even lost some of the nasty scars I had from the war with whatever healing method someone used on me. But Zihark said I shouldn't be moving around too much because I lost a lot of blood, which was the cause of my poor state.

I didn't know much about medicine, and my current situation state of health made no sense to me.

But I was just happy with being alive – and relatively well.

I tried to get up again, yet the result had been the same as before.

"Nephenee, please," Kurth pleaded. He looked at me with concerned eyes.

I hated it, so I looked away. While I was flattered by his concerned, I simply despised being so-so useless and weak. I couldn't be weak; I was the big sister in my household. I'm the one that my family always depended on. The last time I felt so bad about myself was during my time as a war prisoner, but back then I could at least throw a punch.

"Just one drink," I said, still avoiding looking at him.

I heard him inhale deeply. "Very well."

He grabbed my arm and placed it over his cloaked shoulders. "I'll help you walk around."

"W-Wait! I don't wanna crush ya." I was much taller than young Kurth. He was also very frail-looking and really skinny.

"I'm stronger than I look," he said reassuringly. "And I have carried you before." That much was true.

"All right," I said. He slowly raised the both of us, carefully trying not to drop me. He softly gripped my wrist, and he put his other hand slightly above my waist.

"Let me know if you want to rest."

"Thank ya," I said as nicely as I could.

While Kurth walked slowly and gracefully, I mostly limped in an attempt to conserve as much energy as I could. We did get a couple of odd looks – not that I cared - by the folks that apparently had nothing to do right in the middle of the day. Kurth was very strong indeed, because practically dragging me didn't seem to bother him in the slightest; he was such an odd boy.

"Um, excuse me, Kurth?" I said tentatively.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to know why yer bein' so nice to me?" I asked. "I'm just a stranger and all."

"You did save me." I wasn't expecting that response, in fact, that could have been the only answer I would have never guessed.

"I thought it was the other way around. And just when did I save you?" I thought that maybe he had mistaken me with someone else.

No response came from him. "Kurth?"

"Huh?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. Nephenee, what's the last thing you recall?"

I thought it was rude to ignore my question, and then ask one himself. "Fightin' some Begnion soldiers, and some creep stabbin' me with his lance," I answered nonetheless. The thought of Jarod made my skin crawl, and the shoulder he injured ached painfully.

_I have to get that checked._

"Nothing more?" he insisted.

"It all goes black after that," I responded. I tilted my head slightly to take a good look at his face, he looked awfully thoughtful. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about, and I was feeling like going back to my usual quiet self.

"Hm. Do you mind if I tell you after you feel better?" he asked politely

"It's fine with me." I wasn't the argumentative type to begin with. Besides, I didn't need at the moment to fill my pained head with the details of my survival and how I happened to get to the other side of Daein in a ridiculously short amount of time.

_The Desert of Death, _I thought. _ That name is lovely, I wonder if they have a Canyon of Doom._

I was alive and recuperating, I arrive where I wanted to be - almost at the cost of my life-, and I would continue to search for Meg the moment I could walk by myself.

_Maybe the worst has passed, _I dared to think optimistically.

XXXX

In all of Tellius, there was no grander palace than the Mainal Cathedral, the second largest structure in the world. But Castle Gaddos was a close second. The entire castle was decorated with only the finest tapestries made by the most well-known artists in history, and portraits of the present and past Dukes of Gaddos. The lavender-coloured marble used to construct the massive structure was the same kind that was used for the Mainal Cathedral, for the first Duke of Gaddos thought it would have been a crime to build his own residence with anything less than the best materials in all the land. And the floors had tiles so white and lustrous that one could see their own reflection if they stared at them for a moment. Yes, Castle Gaddos was a fine example of modern beorc architecture, and it was certainly a work of art. At the same time, the capital of the duchy of Gaddos served as a symbol of the Begnion senators' lust and avarice, for Duke Lekain of Gaddos could not allow other palaces such as Daein Keep and Castle Crimea to be better than his home.

Duke Lekain had spent a fortune – with taxpayer gold - refurnishing and remodeling his castle with the singular purpose of not losing to the puppet countries.

Through the lavish and finely decorated halls of Castle Gaddos walked a man clad in carmine-coloured armour. He was a man who had honed his skills in battle and had mastered the lance through his twenty-two years of service, and had become the second finest general in the Begnion military.

His name was Levail.

While many thought he was a good-natured and honest man, he was actually a sinner like so many of the high-ranking officers. He meant no harm, but he did nothing in the face of injustice, despite having more than enough evidence to have his master arrested and tried for corruption. Levail would've liked nothing more than to throw Duke Gaddos in the darkest of dungeon in Sienne, mostly because Lekain forced him to be the leader of his personal army. A man of his skills should have been serving in the Central Army, but Levail had been a victim of Lekain's greed, for Lekain could not get his grubby hands on General Zelgius, so Lekain had to settle for him. Levail truly wanted to have Lekain locked up, yet his sense of duty never allowed him to something his disturbed subconscious considered as an act of treachery.

Once Levail reached the deeper parts of the castle, he left his shield and weapon with a soldier on guard duty, for he could not be armed if he wanted to go any further. Duke Gaddos had gained many enemies in the underworld, and had become ever so paranoid in his old age. It made Lekain feel safer to know that no one near him had a weapon, but Levail thought such orders were foolish, for how could his men protect him from an assassin's attempt on his life without a weapon?

It wasn't very long before General Levail reached the entrance to Duke Gaddos' office. Levail knocked three times on the caoba door.

After a moment of waiting, Levail heard Duke Gaddos say, "You may enter." With a small feeling of dread forming in the back of his head, Levail went inside to meet his master.

Levail kneeled before Lekain once he spotted the heavyset blonde noble working behind his document-filled desk.

"Your Holiness," Levail greeted.

"What is it, Levail? I'm a very busy man," Lekain grunted, not bothering to even look at the man before him.

"You summoned me," Levail reminded. The young general knew he hadn't forgotten out of senility, Lekain was simply forgetful regarding matters that didn't directly benefit him – it took him years to memorize Levail's name.

"Ah, yes. My long-time friend, Duke Numida, requested my help." Lekain pushed his chair back, and stood up. "The leader of his forces has met an unfortunate accident." A feeling of disgust grew on General Levail's stomach at the mention of Jarod. "Now the Occupation Army finds itself struggling to control the rebellious people of Daein."

Lekain circled around the still kneeling Levail. "It is in everyone's best interest to try to maintain control of that barbaric country, so I volunteered your services until General Jarod is back on his feet."

"Understood. If I may ask, Your Holiness, what happened to Jarod?" Despite Levail's dislike for the burgundy-haired officer, he still recognized him as a competent fighter, and was surprised he was incapacitated.

"He apparently won't say. But we have reason to suspect some fortune-teller he was tracking might have been the cause of his injuries," Lekain said. "But that is unimportant."

Levail was thrilled to receive a chance to leave Gaddos, even if it was only for a short period of time. Though he admitted to himself that it was odd that Duke Gaddos had decided to 'lend' him to help Numida considering Lekain wasn't the type to share anything.

"You may rise," Lekain said.

_Finally, _Levail thought as he stood up once again.

"I have a gift for you, Levail. Consider it as a token of my appreciation for all your years of service," Lekain said, getting a large and thin sliver case from a nearby table.

_It wasn't my choice to serve you for so long, _Levail wanted to say.

Lekain handed the case to the head of his army. "Open it."

Levail's eyes widened in surprise after opening Lekain's gift, inside the case laid the mightiest of spears ever forged, the Wishblade. The black and dark-blue spear was simply stunning. Levail had heard tales of the Wishblade, and had often dreamed of seeing it with his own eyes. Now, the spear he would have been content with just seeing was his, he was very overjoyed. He wanted to test the weapon's weight, but he knew Duke Gaddos would disapprove, so he closed the case to avoid any further temptation to hold his new toy.

Levail felt like a squire whom had been given his first mission.

"My good friend, Numida, gave me this spear and a powerful tome. Both had been treasures of Daein he..."

_Stole? _

"Acquired," Lekain emphasized, "from the vaults of Daein."

"When should I leave?" Levail asked.

"Right away," Lekain answered. Lekain was making his way back to his desk to continue working on whatever he was doing before General Levail interrupted.

"As you wish." Before he left for Daein, Levail wanted to ask something to his master – although he already knew the answer, but he felt inclined to hear it anyways. "Your Holiness, why me? There are many qualified officers that could do this job, and I have many responsibilities here in Gaddos."

"Tsk, tsk," Lekain shook his head as he sat down. "You should know by now what truly makes you special, and the only one I can trust with this task. It's not your skill or your experience." Lekain grinned maliciously. "It's that you can keep a secret."

XXXX

Hackdirt's tavern was unsurprisingly low of patrons, and the few drunkards that were sitting around were either too drunk or far to focused on their silly gambling games to notice Kurth and I enter. The place wasn't very big, even Calill's medium-sized bar was much larger than the almost run-down tavern.

Kurth and I went up to the counter, where a nasty-looking burly man stood behind it, cleaning a mug with a filthy piece of cloth. My young companion helped me sit on a stool, which sadly had nothing to help support my back. I had trouble not falling back, but I held on to the edge of the counter to help balance myself. Kurth took another stool and sat beside me, close enough to catch me if I fell backwards.

"What can I get ya, strangers?" the man behind the counter asked, putting the mug down.

"Ya got water?" I wasn't looking for much, and this whole drinking trip I was taking was just a clever excuse to move around.

"Ha! Water, she says," the man snorted. "Sorry miss, only alcohol in here. The only way ya'll get clean water 'round here is if someone kindly gives it to ya. Word to the wise, people are a bit frugal nowadays."

I wasn't very excited about drinking alcohol in a strange village, not that I was a stranger to it since I've worked on Ohma's vineyard and had tasted the wine I made there, but I wasn't about to go back after making poor Kurth drag me around an entire village.

"Then give me whatever's cheapest." I looked at my companion. "Kurth, do ya want somethin'?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

"The cheapest thing I have is beer from Nevassa," the man said.

"I ain't picky."

"Suit yerself." He served me a yellow-coloured and foamy drink on a dirty glass mug. Needless to say, I thought the service was terrible. "Three silvers."

I reached in my coin pouch and paid him the amount he asked.

"Nice knowing ya, miss."

I shouldn't have ignored his warning. The moment I took a sip from my drink, my gag reflexes kicked in – at least that was working stupendously. The thing was bitter, stale, watery, and quite frankly, the sand tasted much better. I had to close my eyes and pinch my nose to force it down my throat. I couldn't believe they didn't serve this junk while I was a prisoner.

"Don't drink it if you don't like it!" Kurth exclaimed. "You're recovering, after all."

"Ma said never to waste food," I sadly said. For the first time in my life, I was inclined to disobey my mother.

I closed my eyes hard, and drank the entire rancid beer with quite a few forced gulps. When I finished, put the mug back on the counter... hard.

"I never thought I see the day someone would finish that," the man said, giving Kurth and I an almost toothless smile. "Wanna know what people call that beer?"

"Bad?" My head collided with the counter, now both my head and stomach were sore.

"The Pig's Piss," he said laughing. I would have to agree with the person that said called it that.

Someone behind us sounded like he was... emptying the contents of his stomach. "Damn it, Gary! Why do ya always ruin my already screwed-up floor?"

The burly man left to tend to his other patron.

"Kurth?" I called, head still down.

"Yes?"

"This was a bad idea." Kurth laughed, and I wish I could've joined him.

I realized it was all a bad idea.

All of it!

Leaving my good life back in Ohma was the stupidest thing I've done! Not only was I following a probably nonexistent trail, but I just kept going like some naive girl. I was chased out a few villages, almost got killed by soldiers that were supposed to be my allies, and I lost my lances and armour...

My armour... my custom-made armour General Ike had commissioned just for me during the Mad King's War. I had grown attached to the thing. I always received a bittersweet feeling out of that armour. I never wore it for pleasant occasion, but it was simply mine, it would only fit me and no one else, and now it was just scrap metal.

I was very tempted to order a few more rounds of beer, just to try to wash away my thoughts.

But something else was bothering me more that my near-death experience and the loss of my armour.

"It's my fault," I whispered. "Daein's like this because of me."

"Excuse me?"

"I just wanted my home to be free."

"Nephenee, what are you talking about?"

"I didn't know this would happen."

I couldn't play ignorant anymore, and I couldn't see the world in black and white. I was just as responsible for Daein's state as General Ike or Queen Elincia. I kept blaming myself, even if I was just a soldier in the last war, I still thought myself responsible simply for playing a role. I didn't know... I didn't know saving my country meant dooming another one.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: If this story didn't seem AUish, then this chapter *should* fix that. Sorry for the tardiness... and for the fact that this chapter ain't as long as the previous ones – it could not be any longer 'cause anymore would've been forced. I wanted this chapter to focus on Neph and how the Radiant Dawn universe has been altered so far, which made me a little sad because I've been dying to write a scene with Pelleas and Soldat in which I tackle the subject of elder magic (dark magic) and his mark thingy (protection of the spirits or spirit protection?)._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 4

Laying face down on the filthy wilderness ground, covered in dirt from head to toe, cold from the night's chilly temperature, waiting to attack a larger group of trained Begnion soldiers, and his only companions were an insecure young archer and an overconfident boy with a sword. In his youth Nolan had never imagined he would've found himself in such an unfavourable position, especially when he had been a wealthy merchant and the idea of carrying a weapon himself was preposterous if he could afford to pay someone else to get their hands dirty. But years of experience had taught Nolan to solve his problems with his own hands and not with coin – he always got the job done right, and that's why he turned his country's future into his own personal problem. Nevertheless, he and his companions had limits, and a three-man team ambushing an ampler and better equipped force certainly felt like too much.

Edward laid next to Nolan with a thin sword on hand and gritted teeth. A few yards in front of them were the stone roads that connected Nevassa with the southern territories of Daein and with Northern Begnion. On the other side, opposite of Nolan's and Edward's, Leonardo waited alone, which immensely worried Nolan – and Edward, but he was trying desperately not to show concern. If Sothe had been with them his keen eyesight would have been a blessing in the dark; or if Micaiah had been with them, her light magic could have been used to offer a bit more visibility. Both of them were absent, and Nolan knew that it was pointless to think of the boons they could've offered since the Dawn Brigade divided themselves for this mission.

While Nolan had argued against splitting their forces, he didn't push the subject too much when he had the chance because he hadn't dared to doubt one of Micaiah's visions. The silver-haired fortune-teller's predictions had aided them to survive all of General Jarod's attempts on their lives... Yet Nolan had always been sceptical about relying on random visions Micaiah had on opportune moments. Nolan liked telling himself that he had his doubts about Micaiah's power because he was an educated man, and things like predictions were supposed to be absurd for a man like him, but he knew that the thought of fate being readable did not sit well with him. The possibility that their destiny had already been written in stone and that there was no resistance against it had kept Nolan awake for many nights.

Nolan shook his head. _What a bad moment for my mind to go wandering around._

"Nolan?" Edward whispered.

Nolan had asked his companion to keep quiet for the entirety of the mission; nevertheless, he realized that had been a foolish and insensitive request.

"I'm listening," he whispered back.

"You think they'll be alright?"

"Laura, Sothe and Micaiah?" Edward nodded. "I think they should be more worried about us than we of them." Nolan figured that the separation of their team had started to bother Edward. He was the type that liked being close to his companions in order to watch over them.

"Sothe's with them."

Edward seemed more at ease with that little reminder.

Nolan was about to pat Edward's back as if he was a child, but he stopped himself before he could even move an inch. Such a gesture would have been an insult to Edward – in Nolan's mind. Edward and Leonardo might've looked like children, they were barely into their teenage years, but to Nolan, they were a couple of the most matured individuals he had the pleasure of meeting. Children played war games with each other. Children didn't actually go to war, like Edward and Leonardo had decided upon themselves – with the noblest of intentions.

Nolan made a mental note to shake both their hands when he had the chance.

About an hour passed. The sound of owls, the wind, and rustling trees were getting on Nolan's nerves. His worries about Leonardo returned. If he, a grown man with company, was feeling uncomfortable with the current ambient, he imagined his blonde companion must've been feeling much worse.

_This is the one time I would've appreciated some very detailed specifics, _Nolan thought with a little impatience getting the better of him.

Edward elbowed him softly on the forearm. When Nolan looked at Edward, his young comrade was pointing at his own nose. Nolan had been bewildered at first, and then concentrated on sniffing the air and, in a moment, he realized what it was that Edward was trying to tell him.

_Smoke!_

The scent wasn't too strong and Nolan couldn't hear any clanking, meaning the group of soldiers weren't very close to their position. The warrior grabbed his trusty steel axe from his back and held gripped it as tight as he could. They had agreed that Leonardo would be the first one to strike, so all Nolan and Edward had to do was wait for him. Nolan wondered if his archer companion was up for the task – and at the same time, he realized he picked the absolutely worst moment to doubt Leonardo's skill. While the Dawn Brigade's archer had proven himself to an accurate and reliable marksman, his experience consisted on providing ranged assistance to the rest of the team during close combat skirmishes. To the best of Nolan's knowledge, Leonardo had never shot a moving target in the dark.

"Move it, you horrible lot!" Nolan` heard from a distance. "Or do you prefer to that we move up the execution to right now?"

_It's definitely the group we've been waiting for. _The man spoke had the unmistakable mixture of brutish yet cultured accent that was commonly found in most of Begnion's soldiers.

It wasn't long before the group came into view. On the front of the group marched three soldiers with their shields strapped to their backs and carrying lit torches with their left hands and lances on their right hands. Behind them, the three prisoners with their hands cuffed behind their backs followed: two slender young men with long hair tied up in ponytails, and a large and muscular bald man with a thick beard and moustache. And the rear of the group consisted of two archers and an extra soldier pointing his lance at the captives. To Nolan, the prisoners looked like ordinary people, and while the warrior encouraged rescue missions regardless of whom they were rescuing, he couldn't understand by just looking at them why Micaiah had insisted on saving these men in particular – even she didn't know.

Before Nolan had a chance to get impatient, an arrow struck one of the archers in the chest.

_Excellent choice, Leonardo, _Nolan thought when he saw the archer collapse.

'Get the other one,' Nolan mouthed to Edward before heading out to attack.

Abandoning their already dying comrade, the rest of the soldiers had turned their attention to the direction where the arrow had come from, and the prisoners threw themselves at the ground. The soldiers had been so focused on finding the person that had attacked them that they didn't even notice when Edward and Nolan were right behind them.

The much faster Edward had reached the still-standing archer before Nolan had the opportunity to fend off the rest of the soldiers. Nolan cursed under his breath. The warrior had told his younger friend to always wait for him, but like most of the time, impatience got the best of him. Nolan unclipped a hand axe from his belt with his free hand, and he threw it as hard as he could at the nearest lancer to Edward.

Edward slashed a mortal wound on the lightly armoured with an upwards arc as Nolan's hand axe lodged itself onto another soldier's shoulder. The soldier Nolan wounded screamed for a healer and fell on his knees, clutching his injury.

_Three left! _Nolan thought optimistically.

The remaining soldiers grunted angrily and charged at Nolan and Edward with killing intent. One of them tripped clumsily on the ground. Nolan saw an arrow on the back of the fallen lancer's leg – Nolan guessed it was courtesy of Leonardo.

One soldier fell due to being overwhelmed by Nolan's superior strength, and the second one died moments after being stabbed by Edward's sword in the stomach.

Nolan blinked a couple of times after the adrenaline of combat slowly left his system, and he prayed silently that Micaiah and Sothe would be just as successful as they were.

XXXX

I was feeling much stronger after a few days, although thoughts about how I played a part in Daein's destruction still made it hard for me to sleep. Which is why I left the inn I had been staying during the middle of the night, and it felt great to no longer need a chaperone to ensure I wouldn't go around and fall like a toddler that was learning how to walk for the first time. But to be honest, a very small part of me did enjoy that I was being watched over for once, instead of the other way around.

The chilling night's air had been a bit unbearable the first few nights I had gone out alone, but I had learned to slowly enjoy it as much as I could – especially since I had to deal with the intense heat during the day.

_How can people live like this? _I already had an answer the moment I made myself that query. _They don't have a choice, do they?_

I felt like so bad about myself because I've spent most of my life envying the city folks and nobles, taking for granted all the good things I had been blessed with, not caring about anything outside my little country village, and not cherishing the fact that my family and I have always enjoyed our freedom. If I were to compare Begnion's occupation of Daein to Daein's occupation of Crimea, King Ashnard would look like a saint in comparison to what the leaders of Begnion were doing to Daein.

Back when Ashnard ruled over Crimea, he had been a tyrant, but we at least had enough freedom to fight back. In fact, for a time I felt like he wanted all Crimeans to oppose him.

But Daein...

I had asked – and pleaded a little – Zihark and Jill to describe to me in full detail what had happened in the last three years, and what they hesitantly told me was the same scenario the Dawn Brigade had painted me when I met them. It was horrible to think that none of them had even exaggerated a little. I had imagined a lot of horrible outcomes for Crimea if Ashnard had been allowed to stay as ruler of my country, and none of those supposed outcomes were as bad as Daein's reality.

I...

I once despised Daeins.

I thought most Daeins were evil as a whole for what they tried to do three years ago.

I really wanted Daein to be punished for all it did.

But after hearing and witnessing what Daein had gone through, I came to realize that the people of Daein didn't deserved to be punished just for one man's madness.

Children starving on the streets, women being abused by male soldiers, men being tortured for the sake of preventing them to rise against Begnion; and someone were getting rich out of all this misery. I asked Zihark if the soldiers prevented the citizens from leaving, and he told me that they didn't need to because Daeins are a strong and proud people... and they won't abandon their country even if it costs them their lives. I know that Crimeans aren't as passionate about their country as opposed to our Daein neighbours.

_What of it? _Was the conclusion I kept coming back to.

_What can I do? I'm just Nephenee, the daughter of farmers and former militiawoman._

I should've stayed in Ohma because I couldn't just return and pretend everything was just an unpleasant trip in a fouled-up country.

I-I don't know what I wanted to do. Actually, that's completely true; I wanted to bash my head against the wall until I stopped thinking.

I sat on the sandy ground when I somehow reached the town's gate. I kept coming to Hackdirt's entrance every night since the view of the moon was pretty good. It sure helped me clear my mind and it also served as a reminder of the nice things the world had to offer.

But before I could relax, I heard clanking from behind me. I instantly thought it was Jill, but I couldn't see anyone when looked back. The clanking continued, and I was very surprised that someone was spying on me while wearing armour.

I got up and dusted some sand off myself. "I know yer there."

"It is ya, Nephenee!" My eyes widened when I recognized that voice. A moment later, Brom's daughter showed herself.

"Meggie!" I was very happy to have finally found her, but it tore me to see her with her orange armour nicked and a sheathed sword in her hip.

I raced towards her, dropped down and hugged her as tight as I could. _Meggie! What have you gone through? _Is what I wanted to say, but was holding back tears of joy.

"Neph, what's the matter?" She didn't sound sad or troubled, just surprised at my reaction.

"Nothin', nothin', I'm just glad to see ya in one piece." I released her and looked at her. "Meg, you should go back, yer father's gotta be worried about ya."

"But I'm so close to finding my future husband." I shook my head. _Silly girl, she ain't a woman and she's already worried about marriage. _"I also have to warn the villagers."

That caught my attention. "About what?"

"Soldiers are coming this way. I heard them say somethin' about an attack."

"Attack! These people have can hardly survive their day-to-day hardships!" Were the Begnion soldiers so cruel that they would strike a village so needy like Hackdirt for no apparent reason?

_Don't panic, Nephenee, _I told myself so I wouldn't do anything too foolish.

"Meg, meet me at the inn as soon as you can. Please don't say anythin' about an attack just yet." She nodded.

Even though I was still recovering, I sprinted through the town to reach the inn once again, and I really felt like I was pushing myself. But I needed to reach Jill and Zihark as soon as possible, for they would know what to do.

XXXX

She smiled, something Micaiah didn't do too often because of the world she currently lived in, but knowing that her friends had survived as she had predicted was an excellent reason for a mage to feel happy. She would've liked to let them know that they were also fine because she knew they worry a lot – especially Nolan. This moment had been one of those rare times in which she felt blessed for having her powers, but this had been a time were she received news that relieved her instead of getting visions of bad things to come.

"I take it they're fine," Sothe said, bringing her back to reality.

"They are."

She and Sothe had gotten rid of the few remaining soldiers stationed in Kisca, and they were helping Laura tend to the beaten villagers that had revolted when Begnion took away all their medical supplies. They had moved all the wounded men and women to the deserted Kisca Manor. The former residence of a once powerful noble was in shambles due to the battle that took place there a while ago between the Dawn Brigade and the Occupation Army, but it was the best place for the wounded villagers to rest as they recuperated.

Micaiah put her hand in the shoulder of a pained woman. She was about use Sacrifice to heal the woman when Laura slapped her hand out of the way. She saw that the healer had stern look on her youthful face.

"Lady Micaiah, it's bad that you and Sothe are helping me after fighting such a large group of soldiers by yourselves, please leave the healing to me." Micaiah laughed nervously and moved out of the way to let Laura do her job. "You two should rest, I can take it from here."

She was about to protest before Sothe grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"You're going to collapse if you continue on."

"But..." She stopped herself knowing that it was no use to argue against Sothe. Besides, she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep after leaving Nevassa almost three weeks ago. Maybe Laura and Sothe were right.

XXXX

I found Zihark near the entrance of the wooden two-story inn where he had been staying for the last couple of days. He looked like he had returned from taking a stroll, and was surprised we he saw me run up to him. I tried to speak to him, but all that I could do was pant rapidly, which made me worry and think I wasn't as well as I thought. Running across a tiny desert outpost wasn't supposed to exhaust me so much – or at all.

"Zi... hark..." I ungracefully managed to say. I bent my back forward and held onto my knees for support.

"Whoa, Nephenee, what have you been doing?" He came closer to me and offered me his arm. I waved it away.

"Running," I said, slowly starting to breath evenly again.

"I should've guessed." I didn't look at him, but I guessed he must've rolled his eyes at my obvious answer.

"I found the person I was looking for." I composed myself. "She said that Begnion soldiers are headin' this way. We have to tell Jill, Kurth, and then the villagers."

Zihark's first reaction was to look around as if making sure no one had heard what I said. He seemed pleased that there was no one else walking around were we were.

"Jill and Kurth left a while ago," he informed me.

"Why?" They couldn't have left at a worse time. I needed help alerting everyone of the danger that was approaching them. And Jill's wyvern would have been helpful to confirm what Meg told me.

"Kurth said he needed to go back for personal reasons, and General Tauroneo is going to get in trouble if at least one of us didn't return soon," he said calmly.

_How can you be so calm?_

"Then you have to help me..."

He grabbed my shoulders. "Nephenee, calm down, you're worrying over nothing."

"How can ya say that? These people are in danger."

Zihark released me. He closed his eyes and sighed. I got the feeling he wanted to say something important, but was deciding if he should tell me or not. "Begnion has done some pretty nasty things, but trust me when I tell you that this place isn't their target. Don't go around causing a panic."

"What else is there? All there is 'round here is just sand and some vultures." I wanted to slap myself after saying that because I remembered that there really was another place in this forsaken desert. I had few recollections of the place where Zihark and Jill had cared for me since I was unconscious most of the time, though I realized that it's important or it guards something of value if two veterans – plus General Tauroneo - like them were guarding it to the point of not mentioning it to me.

"You sure they won't come around her and stomp on the people?" I didn't want to cause an unnecessary panic, but I'd rather do that than live on knowing I could've prevented a massacre.

He shook his head. "I've dealt with these guys before; they won't do anything if there isn't a profit to be gained. If they do pass through here, the worst they'll do is spit at someone."

I had no way of knowing if Zihark's words would turn out to be true or false, but I sure felt much more at ease after hearing him. I inhaled deeply and tried to exhale my paranoia away.

I looked at him straight in the eyes. "Zihark, whatever you're doin', I want to help out."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been beatin' myself for what has happened in Daein, and I know that you and I ain't at fault for fightin' in the last war, but I won't be happy unless I do something," I said, and I was a little proud of myself for speaking so much.

"Nephenee," he started.

"I know I'm Crimean and all, but I feel that I have to help out... y'know."

"Nephenee."

"And Ike said to always do what we think it's the right thing to do."

"Umm..."

"Ya know I can be handy in the battlefield."

"Nephenee!" He startled me.

"What?"

He smiled. "We have to get you a lance."

_A/N: Finally! She joined! I kinda tread carefully on that subject. I didn't want her to say, "On, I'll join on the side of justice!" from the beginning. I think my mistake was not finding a way to somehow add this on the last chapter, because then the kickassery would've started on this chapter._

_Such is life. Again, sorry for how brief this chapter was, anything else would've been either unnecessary or redundant, and I don't want people to get sick of Tauro and Soldat's little comedy duo too soon._

_I think I'll write something in my LJ account, I mean, there's no need for notes for this chapter, but I think I'll quick walkthrough of how this story has deviated from canon so far._

_Hope you've enjoyed! _


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Phew! Got this done! I almost forgot about my self-imposed deadline when I found this disturbingly good manga and read it like crazy.  
><em>

_I'm almost done setting the stage. Huzzah! Give me two chapters... three at tops. _

_Notes on my livejournal account!_

_Enjoy!  
><em>

Chapter 5

Dark magic was a most ingenious force. It wasn't just a tool like anima or light magic, if anything, it was a partner to the wielder – a very jealous and gluttonous companion that endlessly consumes whatever's on its way. Not everyone could master such an entity – if it didn't end up dominating them – and only one person in history had ever remained the same after exploring the complexities of elder magic, and he wasn't even aware of just how fortunate he was when he didn't lose his very being the moment he had unknowingly gambled his life during his explorations towards the depths of one of the most untamed forces known beorc and laguz alike. Few known forces could overpower elder magic, and one of the more recognized ones was pure chaotic energy.

Did elder magic care if the boy was king or peasant? It did not – not in the slightest. Nevertheless, Prince Pelleas was the first person to have conquered dark magic without being twisted by it in some way. He wasn't even aware of specters trying to dive right into his soul as he sat peacefully in his modest room at the ruins of the Desert of Death. More and more dark ghost wanted to gain entrance into the heir of Daein's throne with every word he mentally read from his dark tome, but they were always unsuccessful and that wasn't about to change.

When Prince Pelleas flipped a page of his leather-covered tome, the mark in his forehead began to glow and slightly burn. He closed his tome and shot up a hand to his forehead in order to soothe the scorching sensation. The boy knew he had to stop reading whenever that happened. It saddened him to halt his studies, but he knew better than to disobey Eos, his guardian spirit – and saviour. He didn't know that Eos had saved his life on countless occasions since he could not properly communicate with the spirit, or that mastering elder magic came at a great cost to a mage's sanity. Yet it was thanks to Eos that Pelleas was able to stay the same person he was before studying the arcane arts, and to become a powerful sage without ever having to set foot in a battlefield, although Pelleas credited most of his rapid success with magic to Sir Soldat.

Pelleas got up from his chair and gently placed his tome, Verrine, on top of his simple desk. It bothered him to see his wooden desk filled with only one book. Was he not of noble blood? Surely there should've been plenty of work for him to do – even if he was a novice. But there was never anything for him to do, and there was even less tasks for him to perform every time someone joined his cause. Izuka handled everything related to politics, General Tauroneo had become consumed with planning and strategizing for the upcoming war for liberation, Sir Soldat scouted the desert every single day to ensure they were safe, and Jill and Zihark left on a very important mission – according to General Tauroneo. Pelleas was starting to believe that he was only useful for calming his mother whenever she felt lonely.

_That's why I'm studying dark magic, _Pelleas thought with a sense of resolve. Even though he was born with natural talent for the arcane arts, the truth was that he had never touched a single magical artifact until Lord Izuka had tasked Sir Soldat with his immediate protection during the first months of Pelleas finding out the truth about his heritage. At first Soldat wanted to just entertain the boy, so he bought him a few thunder tomes and taught him only the basics of spell-casting. It took Pelleas three days to do what so many couldn't do in years. Pelleas was able to cast thunder spells just as well as Zihark could swing a sword.

Sir Soldat didn't show his surprise in a way Pelleas had expected. Soldat had been scared out of his wits when he witnessed Pelleas' remarkable progress. He had begged the Prince of Daein not to say a word to Izuka about learning magic from him. Soldat smuggled a few of Master Izuka's dark tomes in return for his silence. Pelleas felt very guilty for keeping secrets from the man that had rescued him from certain death in the streets of Nevassa, but he wanted to prove to others – but mostly to himself – that he was a competent man. And Prince Pelleas dared to hope that he might be able to impress Sir Soldat - once he returns – to perhaps ask Lord Izuka to allow him fight alongside the soldiers.

Although the thought of fighting in a war made Pelleas sick to his stomach, a small part of him still wanted to try. His father, King Ashnard, had commanded the loyalty and respect of the masses because he would cast aside his status and place himself amongst the men and women in the frontlines. Pelleas hoped to gain the love of his subjects as quickly as possible, and he was willing to risk his life to obtain it if it came to that.

Pelleas sat on the edge of his single bed with white sheets, and slumped his shoulders in exhaustion. He wished the cause of his weary state would be from working tirelessly in Daein's liberation or reconstruction, but he was simply in his room with tomes as his only company.

Pelleas was so very lonely. Even when he was with his mother, Lady Almedha, he felt alone. He just couldn't quite relate to her in anything – and it sometimes felt as if she wasn't fully there. Most people would've gone mad if they went through the amount of loneliness Pelleas experienced on a daily basis, but Pelleas knew a far harsher fate – one with abusive strangers on the streets.

Pelleas heard voices from outside his room before he could throw himself back to try to sleep in an attempt to avoid thinking of his lack of company. One of the voices was unmistakably Soldat, and it seemed he was leading the other speaker farther away from his position as the voices grew distant in a matter of seconds. Curiosity getting the better of the young prince, Pelleas got up and exited his room as fast as he could.

Once outside, Pelleas noticed that the second speaker was female – it sounded like Jill - … and that Soldat was shouting at her.

"… and that partner of yours, where is he?"

Pelleas couldn't hear Jill's reply as he slowly neared their position.

"Please enlighten me with the knowledge of who gave you permission to leave?" The closer Pelleas got, the more agitated Soldat sounded. Jill remained silent. "You won't respond, girl? You're lucky you haven't been charged with conspiracy and treason, but mark my words, Lady Fizzart, that is something I intend to rectify!"

"You-you can't do that." Pelleas was close enough to hear Jill.

The young prince of Daein already knew where they were. It was the room General Tauroneo had recently turned into an armory, although all the weapons were all in crates, making the space of the medium-sized room rather cramped.

"You think our future king won't…"

"Soldat!" Pelleas exclaimed, something that obviously shock both Jill and Soldat when they turned their attention to Pelleas, who was standing at the doorway that lead to the room they were in.

Soldat's forehead wrinkled the moment he faced Pelleas, making Pelleas lose his sudden burst of confidence. He wanted to tell Soldat to stop threatening Jill Fizzart, and that he would never allow him to have her charged with crimes he did not believe she committed in the past, but the admiration – and fear – he had for both Soldat and Izuka forced Pelleas's words to stay in his throat.

On the other hand, Jill's kind – yet neutral – expression made Pelleas feel more at ease.

"Is the there something you need, Prince Pelleas?" Soldat asked with a challenging tone that Pelleas mistook for irritation.

_I need you to leave her alone. _He tried to speak, yet the pressure muted him.

"Milord, you must be aware that Lady Fizzart and the hooligan of a swordsman have been shirking their duties," Soldat said. All Pelleas did was shake his head in disagreement. "They abandoned their posts," Soldat continued – completely ignoring the young prince's motion. "Your father had a very effective method to ensure no one would desert…"

"He sent people to hunt them and their families like animals," Jill finished.

"Correction: like sub-humans." He returned his attention back to Jill. "Your father was smart enough to know that, why is it that you're not?"

Jill's hands balled into fists and she clenched her jaw. Pelleas knew the story of General Shiraham's death at the hands of the Crimean Liberation Army, and he was aware that Jill fought for the side that killed her father; meaning he understood just how deep and hurtful Soldat's words were.

Jill's posture eased and she smirked at Soldat before Pelleas had a chance to politely ask Izuka's assistant to leave.

"You're never going to anything if you continue to live in the past," Jill retorted. Soldat looked taken aback by her comment. "The only future for Daein you ever speak of is reviving Ashnard's Daein. I have news for you, Soldat, it's never coming back."

"You treacherous harlot!" Soldat snarled.

"Soldat!" Pelleas called out. Soldat turned his venomous gaze to the young Daein Prince. "It's best if you left," Pelleas whispered.

Soldat grunted in anger, but left nonetheless. It was only when the clanking of Soldat's armour faded away that Pelleas dared to speak again.

"Jill, I'm terribly sorr…"

"Prince Pelleas, please accept my apology!" Jill was bowing. Such gesture made Pelleas uncomfortable. He had bowed to just about every lowlife that had terrorized him in his life, so to him, bowing to someone was out of fear and not respect.

"There's no need for you to apologize." He clumsily gestured Jill to straighten up, which she did. "I should be the one to apologize for my," Pelleas paused to choose the correct word to describe Soldat, "vassal's behaviour." It felt foreign to the Daein prince's lips to call someone else his subject or servant.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." She bowed her head quickly.

_Thank you for your kindness? _Pelleas thought that he was intimidating the wyvern-rider if she would thank him for showing a little kindness.

"I mean you no harm, Jill. And all the things Soldat said will not happen," Pelleas said nervously.

"Your Majesty, I know you mean well." She raised an eyebrow.

"But the way you have addressed me, it sounded as if you expect me to scold you."

"I have pledge my allegiance to you, I'm simply being respectful, like a good soldier would. Aren't you used to it with Soldat and Izuka using an honorific to address you, Milord." Though Pelleas had always ignored it, he had noticed traces of mock in Izuka's tone and pity from Soldat's.

"It's different with them, Jill." He scratched the back of his head. "They're a bit more informal than you or General Tauroneo." Pelleas let out a queasy laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Jill's expression turned into a stern one.

"Your Majesty, would you allow me to tell you a story my father told me?" Jill petitioned.

"Um, please do."

She cleared her throat before speaking. "My father had once served Begnion as the commander of the Holy Dracoknights, as special force created for the purpose of protecting the senate whenever they were in Sienne. He told me stories of how cruel and corrupted the senators were, especially the Duke of Gaddos. But amongst those evil men were two good ones, Duke Sephiran of Persis and Duke Hetzel of Asmin."

Jill paused and looked at Prince Pelleas. She seemed unsure if she should continue the story. "Please, go on," Pelleas said, interested in the tale.

"Duke Persis continuously opposed the senate, but Duke Asmin was not as strong. My father told me that Hetzel started to go along with whatever the other senators did. It was obvious to everyone that he did not want to be doing the things he was doing, and eventually, everyone lost all respect for the man..."

"I see." Pelleas looked down, completely understanding why Jill had shared a story.

"Prince Pelleas!" He looked up. Jill visibly swallowed hard. "It's hard to admire and serve someone that allows others to disrespect him."

"Thank you, Jill. I will think about what you've said." As if his legs had a mind of their own, he walked out of the armoury without noticing it himself.

Pelleas knew he had a long way to go, but Jill's words had showed him what a poor start he's had into becoming a monarch. He wanted to find General Tauroneo, for he surely knew the needed qualities to help him become a good king.

XXXX

The Wolf Queen of Hatari couldn't help but feel nostalgia as she ran a hand across the bronze-coloured brick walls of the ruins she was in. She sniffed some of the dust that had gathered on her palm, and the smell resembled the scent from the mud bricks used in Hatari's architecture. It was all too similar. She wondered if her country had once been much larger, or if her people had mimicked another civilization's style. Unfortunately, Nailah knew she would never get the answer. Many historical documents – as well as all of the wolf elders – had been lost in the great flood. And from what Rafiel had told her, the wolf laguz were thought to be a myth by the few laguz of the beast tribe that heard of them.

"My Queen, is something wrong?" asked her gentle companion.

_Where should I begin? _Nailah mentally scolded herself for letting that thought slip by. Thankfully, when she looked at the Rafiel, it did not seem like he had read her thoughts. She didn't want him to worry. Rafiel continued to wait patiently for an answer with a serene expression on his gentle features. Nailah cleared her mind of her worries and focused her vision – with her one eye - on the blonde heron.

"I was just thinking of how similar these ruins are to the buildings we have back home." Nailah knew it was impossible to lie to Rafiel. No matter how many mental defences she would put up, he could always pick up on dishonesty. That's why she gave him a truthful answer to a question he didn't ask.

Rafiel looked up. "I think you might be right. I hadn't noticed." "

"My people might have built this place, or they could've been inspired by the people who did."

"I see, but it's has a few differences," he said as he tugged the front of his heavy white robes. It was then that the queen of wolves noticed he was starting to sweat.

"This place has no windows and it's heavily fortified by far too many walls. This might've been a fortress or a castle." Nailah shook her head. "We have never needed to build something like this."

"It's not our nature to encase ourselves in this manner." Rafiel looked like he was going to sigh, but he didn't do something so ungraceful. "But the beorc forced us."

"You once told me that all the laguz countries had beorc-like castles."

Rafiel nodded. "I never saw Castle Goldoa, but I remember Castle Gallia being very formidable.

Nailah was relieved that Rafiel got distracted. She didn't like keeping secrets from him, but it was for the best. Troubling developments had made Nailah consider the option of going back to her country – with Rafiel, of course. And she didn't want him to know that they might be forced to return until she had exhausted all of her options.

Someone... or something dangerous lurked on the desert, and Nailah was willing to break her promise to the Prince of Serenes if that is what it took to keep him safe.

"My Queen?"

"Yes?"

"Is Volug alright?" He asked with concern.

Nailah smirked. _Leave it to him to worry more about my subject than I have. _"Don't worry about him." She waved a hand dismissively. "He has a shrewd mind to compensate for his lack of experience.

"He has been gone for an awfully long time."

Nailah's ear twitched. "He just arrived." _But a lot of the other beasts are missing. _"Wait here, Rafiel."

"I want to accompany you," he pleaded.

"I'd rather not have you near those thugs." It was her polite way of telling him that he couldn't come.

"They're just afraid of something."

_I should've known he would pick up on what's happening from them. _"They're bound to do something rash if something's worrying them."

"Very well." Nailah liked how Rafiel never pushed a subject for very long. And Nailah was always grateful for his understanding when it came to her overprotective nature.

Nailah left Rafiel alone in a room where she knew he would be safe; because she would make sure no one would use the hallways until she returned to his side.

"You damn dog! Why won't you speak?" Nailah recognized the brutish voice of Agony, a tiger laguz that left a very bad first impression on Nailah. She hoped that he was just scum, and that the others were much better than him.

The Wolf Queen arrived in the room where Agony and his band of thieves kept their many piles of treasure. She was force to squint a little due to the intense brightness that came from the various golden objects, such as coins and cups.

"The Butcher got away because of you!" Agony was about to grab Volug's neck when Nailah spoke up.

"Do I need to teach you a lesson as well?" The seven untransformed laguz that had gathered around Volug flinched in fear when they heard her voice. They all looked at her. "You're not stupid enough to make the same mistake he did." Nailah crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, pointing at a corner where a petrified tiger laguz stood laid in an attack position.

"If dog had spoken, then we would've killed the Butcher." Nailah gave Agony a death glare, scaring him enough to silence him. He probably thought she was going to turn him to stone as well.

"_Come with me, Volug," _Nailah said to Volug in the ancient language.

Volug made himself visible to Nailah by sliding through the pack of thugs. He was untransformed like the rest of them, and fortunately, he was also unharmed. Her brown-haired vassal stood strong, tall and proud... as always.

"_To think you do that so well with just one eye. Maybe you could've turned stone to flesh if you still had both eyes." _

Nailah shook her head. That was a bad sign. Volug always hid his worries under remarks such as those.

"_That bad, huh?" _Nailah looked at the others. "Stay put," she said menacingly. Some of them looked as stiff the laguz she had actually petrified.

For the sake of privacy, Nailah led Volug far away. _"Did you see this 'Butcher'?"_

He shook his head. _"No. I think you're right about him; he's avoiding us in particular. I didn't even see him."_

She raised an eyebrow. _"You didn't see him? Did he just disappear?"_

"_Literally," _he answered seriously.

"_What does he want?" _They hadn't even reached civilization and they already had a tough obstacle to deal with.

"_Agony and his band of misfits think he's after their treasure, but he's actually just after them."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You've noticed we're short of twenty?" _She nodded. "_There's no trace of fourteen of the missing ones... and..." _He shuddered intensely.

"_Volug?"_

"_Six of them fought him, and they died."_ He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. _"We found them sliced apart. A lot of organs were missing."_

Volug was shaking angrily with gritted teeth. _"Do you think we should head back?"_

"_This bastard needs to die," _he whispered. In all the years they had known each other, Nailah had never seen him lose his calm and expressionless composure.

She had reached a decision. _"We're leaving."_

"_To Hatari?"_

"_To Gallia."_

"_But he's still out there."_

"_You said he avoided you, correct?" _Volug nodded. _"He's obviously a coward that won't attack a foreign creature. It's better to leave before he gets braver."_

"_What about them." _He pointed at the group of beast laguz that were waiting for her.

"_I wanted to see if they could be our escorts to Gallia, but I won't risk them attracting the 'Butcher' to our position."_

His eyes widened in surprise. _"We're abandoning them? _

Though Agony and his crew were the farthest thing from a group of innocent victims, a small part of Nailah had wanted to help them. Nevertheless, Rafiel and their mission was far more important; important enough to maybe stop men like that "Butcher" from existing

"_I'm leaving their fates in the hands of the Goddess," _she said solemnly.

XXXX

Zihark leaned closer to me as we trekked across the sunny dunes of the Desert of Death. "Nephenee," he whispered, "why does your friend keep staring at me?"

I looked at Meg, who was on Zihark's left and I on his right. She was really staring at him, and her stare felt... blunt.

"I think she wants to marry ya," I whispered back.

He chuckled softly. "I didn't know you had a sense of humour."

I was being serious. In fact, I was there when Brom told Meg that she would marry the nice, smart and handsome mercenary he met during the war. I remember laughing a little in disbelief. Not only had one of his daughters gotten married that day, but he decided to plan the next wedding right after the bride and groom kissed. I think Meg and Brom planned everything on the next day, and the only thing missing was the groom, who was only a thousand miles away and involved in a dangerous group that sought to overthrow the most powerful country from their land. Then I decided to help out as well – with Meg following me.

I noticed something odd in Zihark's statement. "Wait, you thought I was not funny?"

"Oh, I did not say that. We just thought that you were very serious because you were always quiet." He looked alarmed and worried that I had felt hurt by his comment.

"Papa says that she's too shy for her own good, and afraid of men," Meg annoyingly added.

I glared at Meg. "T-that's not true!"

"One time, this real nice merchant's son proposed to her, and she almost killed him with pitchfork."

My left eye started twitching. "He proposed to my little sister, and was bein' pushy."

Meg shook her head. "I'm talkin' about the last fella that wanted to marry ya. After this guy, everybody just stopped tryin'."

"I don't remember threatenin' that guy... in particular."

"Your mama made you nurse the bruises afterwards." _She always made me do that._

Zihark clutched his stomach and started laughing. "I don't think you know this, but Ike stopped Gatrie from getting near you on several occasions."

"She got that way after the war. Before that, she would just hide like a scared little girl," Meg said with a grin.

_Calill had that effect on me._

I knew Meg was just being playful and had no intention on ridiculing me, but she was really getting on my nerves. "Please, Meg, drop it."

"Fine." She pouted.

Zihark looked happy that I forgotten that I was questioning him, and though I was still curious about the way people thought of me during the war, I decided not to bring up the subject again... not wanting to provoke Meg into telling more joyous stories about my past.

Though I was never much of a talker, I thought it was best to continue on with some conversation rather than enjoy the sandy scenery before me or think of my growing thirst – even though talking would make me even thirstier.

"Um, Zihark," I began, "I reckon it's safe to tell us about whatever it is you're doing here."

"I guess it is, but before that." He reached inside his light coat and pulled two small canteens. "We're almost there, and you're sounding a little dry." He handed Meg and I the canteens.

I popped the top out and took a hesitant sip. _The water's clean?_

"How did you get clean water from that town?" I asked with bewilderment.

He pointed at the steel lance that was strapped to by back. "I managed to haggle it from the smith who sold me your lance."

"I promise to pay ya back," I said for the seventh with my head down.

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. The smith gave me a really good deal."

"But..."

"We'll be even if you use it to trounce some Begnion soldiers." I would've settled for a broomstick, even though I would've only be able to whack people with just that.

I took another sip of water, and though it was warm, it still brought a cooling sensation to my mouth.

Zihark cleared his throat. "Jill and I are serving under Ashnard's son in hopes of ascending him to the throne."

The shock from hearing what Zihark said made me cough wildly after forcing down my water. "What!" I managed in between coughs. "The Mad King had a son?"

"Trust me when I say this, he is nothing like his father. He's practically Ashnard's opposite," Zihark said calmly.

I let out a sigh. "That's a relief." I knew I could trust Zihark's judgment. I was actually a little embarrassed for having reacted the way I did.

"I don't think we've heard of that man having a son," Meg added in.

"It's similar to Queen Elincia's story."

"Convenient," I said

"I thought the same thing," Zihark agreed.

Out of nowhere, we heard a loud pained howl rip through the air, and the faint echoes of clashing steel came from the opposite direction. Zihark signaled us towards the direction of the clashing steel, and started sprinting in that direction. Meg and I quickly followed him.

_A/N: *Sigh*  
><em>

_Okay, I decided to cut the action from this chapter and just bundle it all into one chapter. I don't know how long the next chapter will be, but I wanted to have all the action in the next chapter to try and include a bunch of POVs. I'll see how that goes down.  
><em>


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Monster: a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity,__** wickedness**__, or __**cruelty**__._

_Notes on my LJ account._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 6

Just as many before them had experienced, just as Volug had said, and just as Wolf Queen had dreaded; out of thin air, the Butcher of Beasts appeared before them.

In her lifetime, Queen Nailah had seen many beings in her country. She had obviously seen the wolves of her clan, she had met with beorc who lived under her rule, and she had observed the steadily growing community of those with both beorc and laguz blood cursing through their veins. But the man that stood before them looked like a beorc, yet he was something else. He had the body of a beorc, he carried the weapons of the beorc, he lacked any laguz trait, but something about him felt as ferocious as a beast. Nailah understood what the Butcher was. He wasn't a man or a beast, he was a monster.

The monster was encased in dark plates and he hid the lower section of his face behind a black and white striped cloth. The Butcher had four weapons, three of which she had recognized the moment she laid her eye on them, but the fourth weapon was foreign to the Wolf Queen. She could distinguish the sword on his hip, the knives on his belt, and the red tome he held with on his right hand, she merely couldn't pick out the object he pointed at them with the other hand. It looked like a bow that was attached to a metal stock. Nailah didn't care what that western contraption was, but she grew alarmed when she saw that it was loaded – she instantly feared for Rafiel's safety.

Nevertheless, the truly worst part was the awful stench he gave off. Perhaps a beorc couldn't detect the smell with their weaker senses, but unfortunately for Nailah and Volug, they had to endure the subtle reek of death.

There was something about that creature that simply made Nailah incapable of recognizing him as a normal being. The monster was simply… unnatural.

He didn't do anything since appearing before them. He simply kept staring at the transformed wolf laguz with a fierce determination, and completely ignored Rafiel. The Wolf Queen wondered why he hadn't attacked in that short moment in which she and Volug had been caught off-guard by his sudden apparition, or why he simply blocked their path if he didn't have violent intentions? And against her better judgment, Nailah decided to try to reason with the ebon-clad monster, even though she knew that the possibility of she regretting such a decision would be high.

Nailah motioned Rafiel to get of her back, which he hesitantly did. Once Rafiel had gotten close to Volug, she untransformed before the monster, in order to better communicate with him. Nailah ignored the protesting howls of her servant, and they stopped when Rafiel whispered something to him. She figured Rafiel must've used some of his heron ability to ease Volug's justified worries.

She was defenseless against him in her untransformed state, but it was at least much easier to breath in his presence when she was not in her wolf form.

The monster spoke before she had a chance to utter a single sound. "Got tired already? That's a real shame. I've seen pups last longer than that," it said mockingly.

_Clever ruse, _Nailah thought. Despite the monster's words and tone, Nailah knew that his taunt held no substance when he didn't lower his guard or even lower his weapon.

"_What do you want?" _she asked in the ancient language. She did not want to use his western language, and she figured that the monster must know how to speak the old tongue if he was carrying a tome.

The Butcher laughed amusedly. _"I want you to answer me this question: what are you?"_

"_Does it matter?"_

"_It truly does! I need to know what you are so that I can label you properly!" _He shouted the moment he positioned himself to shoot Nailah. But before it pulled the trigger, Nailah grabbed one of the monster's arms and twisted it with both her hands. Her sudden motion made him miss his shot – the bolt landed somewhere near Rafiel.

It was apparent that the monster didn't expect her to be as strong as she was, especially in her untransformed self. She yanked the monster's weapon away from his grasp, and threw it away with all her strength. Still taking advantage out of her enemy's shocked state; Nailah kicked the monster's ribs – in a small section of his torso that wasn't armoured. The force of Nailah's kick made the Butcher lose his balance, and he fell forward when he tried to retaliate.

Not wasting a single moment, Nailah threw herself at the fallen monster, and pinned him against the sand. _"I've seen toddlers take a better beating than you have," _she said before transforming back into her beast form.

Just before Nailah could put his miserable life to an end, she heard him mutter a lot of incoherent phrases in the ancient language. The combination of the cloth around his face and the rapid way he said things made it impossible for the Wolf Queen – even with her keen hearing- to understand what he was saying, but she understood the last word, in fact, everyone understood the last word...

The Butcher shouted, "Arcfire!"

_He still has the tome!_

Nailah leapt out of the way before the spheres of fire the Butcher had casted could reach her. Even though she avoided being hit directly by the fire spell, the tips of her white fur had been scorched by the spell's intense power. She watched as the spell hit the spot where she had been – and where the Butcher still laid. The orange flames glowed violently and the temperature around them rose drastically. Her first reaction was to ensure that Rafiel and Volug were safe, and was proud of Volug when she saw that he had taken the Prince of Serenes to a safe distance.

When the spell faded away, she saw that the grains of sand had turned into thousands of droplets of some transparent material. No trace of the Butcher could be found. There were no remains, no ashes, no melted steel, and no relief for the Wolf Queen, because that monster did not die in what she thought to be a desperate attempt on both their lives. She knew that he must've used whatever warping mechanism he had in order to escape his own attack.

In less than thirty seconds, Nailah had picked up her enemy's scent. He did not come for her, he ignored the defenseless Prince of Serenes, but Volug had not been as fortunate as Nailah and Rafiel. It had happened in a blink of an eye: the butcher had warped in front of Volug and Rafiel – somehow, with the ranged weapon Nailah threw away – and shot two consecutive bolts, one for each front paw. All the young wolf could do was howl in pain. His front limbs gave out on him and he collapsed on the sand.

With all her mighty speed, the Wolf Queen of Hatari charged towards the Butcher. Her blood boiled with anger, her senses were heightened with the adrenaline of battle, and her fangs ached for his flesh. Her actions had not gone unnoticed, for the Butcher reacted to Nailah's sprint by opening his red tome. In no time, the monster launched large spheres of fire. She dodged the first one by ducking, she avoided second one by jumping to the side, and the monster missed his third shot because he couldn't predict that the Wolf Queen's next move…

When Nailah was five feet away from him, she leapt at him, knowing that she would reach him – and that he wouldn't expect her to do that. Her weight forced him to fall backwards. Her goal was to bite him on the neck and get rid of him as quickly as possible, but he offered his right arm and she seized his forearm instead of his neck, preventing an instant victory. Nonetheless, Nailah bit off a big chunk of flesh and armour from his arm, and he dropped the tome he was holding.

She spit in disgust the contents in of her mouth. The monster kicked her off of him in desperation, and he scrambled to stand up.

"Come 'ere, little doggie!" he taunted with a wheeze. He raised the weapon he used on Volug with just his left arm – it appeared that he couldn't move the other one.

She didn't care that he pointed that thing at her. She knew she would survive being hit by its projectiles, so she readied herself to strike him once again.

"No! My Queen, they're poisonous!" Rafiel warned, but it was too late, Nailah jumped when the Butcher pulled the trigger…

Thankfully for Nailah, he misfired, and she landed well and unscathed.

Without anyone noticing, Volug had been able to push himself just enough to reach the monster, and he dug his fangs right into the back of the Butcher's ankle. He fell on his knees. The blood loss his body was experiencing seemed to be exhausting him rapidly.

For a moment, she stared at his bottomless dark eyes, and she saw something she didn't understand… something that could not be found in nature or her country. There was no way she could describe what she saw, but she knew that it had a word, and it was one of those words with an artificial meaning that the beorc had created, in order to name things only themselves had introduced – and infected – upon the world… or so Rafiel had once told her.

In one swift motion, the monster raised his weapon and pointed it at Rafiel – who was behind Nailah.

He pulled the trigger…

In less than a second split second, Nailah's world crashed. She became consumed with worry for the Prince of Serenes. And in that split second, all her cherished memories with him flooded her mind, and her vows to him had plagued her soul. In that split second, Nailah had dropped her guard for the first time in decades, and she disregarded everything in the world except the wellbeing of Rafiel. Instead of attacking the Butcher, she shielded Rafiel.

But the only thing that came out the monster's weapon was a _click _sound.

"Ha!" was the last thing he said before warping out of there…

With Volug.

XXXX

"Move it, move it, move it!" a former lieutenant of the Daein Imperial Guard yelled at the rest of the soldiers. In an orderly and efficient fashion, the soldiers that came with me ran through the halls, stopped at the armoury to pick up a single weapon or replace their broken one, and exited the ruins once they were well-armed.

I could tell that they were all very excited, and not only that, I related to what they were feeling. There were few greater sensations in this world than fighting for a worthy cause. It felt like no one seemed to question how they were able to find us – or even know about our existence. But to be perfectly honest, some of the pure patriotism was dirtied-up by the evident desire for violence in the soldiers. I always thought it was unbecoming of a soldier to wish to fight for the sake of violence, especially when a soldier can fight for virtuous reasons such as honour and freedom.

"General Tauroneo!" Jill called out as she ran up to me. "Sir, who is going to guard the entrance?"

"I am," I answered, even though I knew that she was aware of that answer.

"But you've sent orders to have me and everyone else engage the bulk of the enemy army!" The situation was an ugly one. A large army had come to our doorstep, and the ever vigilant scout known as Soldat hadn't warned us about their approach, but according to Jill, only mages and a few light-armoured soldiers were near our location, while the vast majority of the army were behind the rest of them.

"Someone needs to lead the men against the larger portion of them."

"General Tauroneo, I'm flattered, but you'll be all alone! Have Soldat lead our forces." She swallowed hard. "He has more leadership experience than me."

"No one can find him." It shamed me to admit it, but Soldat had been my first choice for the job I gave Jill.

"But what if..."

"Jill, we need to take advantage of the enemy's gap before their full force hits us! I can't cut your forces, and I'll be fine on my own." I looked at her with determination. "We can't afford to waste a single second! Please follow your orders without question."

She looked taken aback by what I said, yet she recovered fast and left without saying another word. I knew that it looked foolish to order all the soldiers to go around the group that were near us and head straight for the majority of the enemy forces. I was aware that it looked even more foolish to have only myself take on the men that were closer to us. Nonetheless, I was fully convinced that this was the right choice.

Someone had to stay and protect Prince Pelleas, and since I've always performed poorly in the desert battlefields, I was the obvious choice to stay and be the protector. Besides, according to the Jill's quick headcount, I would be facing fifteen to perhaps twenty men. In my youth, I wouldn't even break a sweat when faced against those odds! I wasn't so old to be shaking in my boots, after all, I used to be a rider of Daein! But sadly, I had to be aware of my limitations, for age had taken its toll on me. Even though I understood that aging was a part of life, I felt cursed by it for getting older and weaker just when my country needed me the most.

By the time I had made it to the armoury, everyone had already left the ruins. And the loud clanking had reduced to faint echoes when I stood at the ruins' entrance. I looked at the seemingly endless sea of sand and at the tattered plateau in front of me, and I thought that this place would be a horrible place to die. Not that I had plans to die, but I picked up the habit of determining if the battlefield before me was a worthy one for I, a general of Daein, to fall in combat. Needless to say, I deemed the barren wasteland before me to be unworthy of being the place where I would meet my demise.

The faint sandstorm that was starting up brought about some discomfort, but I was relieved for the lack of sound – meaning Jill and the rest had been able to slip successfully past the mages. But all sense of relief escaped me when a few blotches of red entered my field of vision. I gripped my lance, and I quickly prayed for the most important things in my life: my sons, my beloved ex-wife, and for my country.

My prayer had been interrupted by a ball of fire that came straight at me. Out of pure reflex, I raised my shield and blocked it. My shield glowed momentarily, and my hand would've been burned by the hot metal if I hadn't worn gloves.

_I'm guessing diplomacy is out of the question, _I ironically thought, for I had also reacted hostilely when informed of Begnion's approach.

I spotted the mage who casted the spell, he was about thirteen feet to my left. With him stood a simple footsoldier and an archer, and I started to clearly see more small groups of them approaching the ruins from every direction. It was the typical Begnion tactic that they always employed: overwhelm the enemy from every direction. But apparently, their commander wasn't aware that it only worked with large numbers, therefore, they had weakened themselves from the very beginning.

Even though I was outnumbered, I knew that I could turn the situation in my favour if I worked fast.

The first thing I did was drop my silver lance on the floor, and then I grabbed the javelin on my back. I threw it at the mage, and it impaled him straight on the chest. The archer was pulling his bowstring, and at the same time, the lancer was running towards me. I picked up my lance and ran it through the lancer's torso before he could even swing his own weapon. I yanked my lance upwards and used the dying soldier's body to block the arrow that came my way.

I kicked the soldier out off the tip of my lance, and then I killed the archer before he could even take another arrow from his quiver.

More Begnion soldiers came when I dispatched this first group.

I saw two large men with axes running straight for the entrance as I retrieved my javelin from the mage's corpse. I wondered why they were ignoring me, and then I got my answer when I saw Prince Pelleas standing in their direction. Before my mind could question as to why he was outside, I launched my javelin at one of them, which made him fall. But I knew I couldn't get to the second one before he could reach Prince Pelleas. Though I knew that, I still ran as fast as I could, but I stopped when three dark orbs emerged from the ground and surrounded the man with the axe.

The orbs circled around him before hitting him. The combination of the man's shrilled screams and his... consumed remains had been one of the most hideous things I ever witnessed in my life.

It took me a moment to realize that those three orbs had been a dark spell. It had been around two decades since I saw an elder magic spell in action... I was very surprised to have seen one, but not as surprised as I was when I realized that Prince Pelleas was the caster, especially since the poor boy was as pale as a sheet and shaking nervously.

"Milord, what are you doing here? Please go back inside!" I said as I blocked an arrow with my shield.

Instead of answering, the young prince said something in the ancient language and another three orbs appeared to dispose of the archer.

"I... umm... You see..." he stuttered. "I was looking for you, and Soldat returned – he was a bloody mess. But neither he nor Lord Izuka escorted me to my chambers like they usually did." He gulped. "I thought I could be of some assistance."

I would've told him to leave the fighting to me if I hadn't seen the look of determination behind his scared expression. I was able to finally see the true colours of Prince Pelleas. I knew that he had his heart on the right place, but I had doubts about his character. I didn't know if he would become a corrupted coward, or a tyrant. Those were not the eyes of a coward or a tyrant, those were the eyes of the strong and benevolent ruler Daein needed the most.

Against my better judgement and knightly teachings, I did not resist Prince Pelleas desire to fight alongside me. I wanted to see if I could somehow break Prince Pelleas from Izuka's insidious indoctrination by allowing him to make this one decision for himself. But at the moment, it did not matter if he broke out of Izuka's shackles, what mattered most to me was how great an honour I felt to fight with such as youth.

XXXX

"Are you alright, Nephenee?" Zihark asked me as I rested peacefully on the sand.

_Let's just say I remember why I decided to continue on workin' on the fields after the war ended._

"I'm fine," I answered. "A bit exhausted, though."

"Good thing Jill came when she did."

"We'd be goners if she came a second later."

"Who?" Meg added. "The dragon lady? She was amazin' how she ordered everyone 'round her."

"You two weren't any slouches either," Zihark complimented.

"We're from Ohma!" Meg exclaimed. "Us Ohma gals are the sturdiest in all the land... or so my papa says." They both laughed

I cupped a bunch of sand in my hand. _I know I'm doing the right thing... Why do I feel like I shouldn't be here?_

XXXX

Volug did not expect to wake up in the conditions he was in: untransformed, restrained against a stone slab by metal cuffs, in a dark room with others in a similar state as his, and without even a sliver of his strength. The young warrior of Hatari had never been so terrified in his entire life. In fact, he was surprised to even be alive. He had expected to be dead after getting close to the Butcher for the purpose of preventing him to hit his queen with those poisonous bolts that had penetrated his tough skin.

Despite his lack of strength, Volug still struggled to free himself. All his efforts proved useless, yet he managed to get the attention of the man that had captured him, for the Butcher emerged from the shadows when he heard the noise Volug was making.

The Butcher limped closer to Volug. He had wrapped some dirty cloths around his wounds, and he smelled like medicinal herbs – which was a welcome change from his real stench. In his uninjured hand, the butcher carried a glass filled with a red-coloured liquid.

"My new pet awakens! Wonderful!" Volug was still learning the language of the western beorc, so he didn't quite understand what he said. Not that he needed to understand what that monster said to know that it was something unpleasant.

"Tell me, are there others like you?" he asked with a sense of twisted happiness.

Volug did not answer and looked away.

"That's right, that woman spoke in…" He cleared his throat. _"Dog, I asked you if you there are more of your kind?"_

Even though he understood him perfectly, Volug still ignored the Butcher's presence.

The Butcher grabbed Volug's head and forced him to make eye contact. _"That's something I hate about your vile kind! Your pride gets in the way of what little rationality you have in your inferior minds."_

Volug's fear increased, but he did not speak.

"_You see that guy over there?" _He pointed at a corpse on the floor. _"I bashed his skull when he didn't respond to my questions." _He gingerly caressed Volug's cheek. _"But don't worry, you're special. There are plenty of cats in this world, so killing him wasn't even a loss. However, you're a different story. I need you to help me kill that white wolf and understand your kind's limitations."_

"_What makes you think I'll help you?" _Volug finally spoke.

"_This!" _He forcibly made Volug ingest the foul-tasting liquid he was carrying… The Butcher left laughing like there was no tomorrow after Volug drank everything.

After one hour, Volug's vision became blurry.

After two hours, Volug's entire being was in pain.

After three hours, Volug was fighting in a losing battle.

In the fourth hour, _It _took control.

_A/N: Lynch him! Kill the Volug killer! But wait, Volug's not actually dead. :D_

It _simply is in control... Let me just say that's this is something I read on a science fiction novel, and it was a concept I liked very much. You see, you have this character who is doing bad stuff, yet he's not in control of his/her own actions, and the internal stuggle is riveting! I don't know, it always kept me on my toes when I read that book._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

All three of his experimental subjects had been radical successes, all three had surpassed human limitations, but the first two had not been able to carry out their purposes… and the third one was starting to show signs of becoming another failure. Not that Izuka had very high expectations of Soldat to begin with. Soldat's purpose had been to temporarily fill the hole that Bertram, the second experimental subject, had left when he fell in battle during the Mad King's War. Still, Izuka was furious that Soldat was beginning to fail him just when he needed him the most. Izuka had no time to find another suitable human candidate to receive the feral serum, which is why Izuka was salvaging the remains of that filthy piece of trash that had dared to come back alive after almost dying – and shaming all the brilliant work he had spent on him.

An unarmored Soldat laid on top of one of the metal slabs that Izuka used to dissect the sub-humans, but ironically, he was using it to patch his subordinate back together. It had been many years since Izuka performed such a surgical procedure, not that he had ever needed to stitch wounds ever since being employed by the Daein Royal Family, which made the entire process feel completely foreign to his hands. At least his good-for-nothing lackey didn't flinch even in the slightest whenever Izuka pricked his skin with the needle he was using.

Izuka stared angrily at the large wound on Soldat's forearm. Soldat kept claiming that it had been caused by one of those sub-human thieves in the desert, which Izuka doubted vehemently. Only cat and tiger laguz roamed the Desert of Death, and Izuka had studied those two species enough to know that Soldat's wound couldn't have been done by either of them. The marks left by the fangs were far too big for a cat, and if a tiger had gotten hold of any human limb… even Soldat's enhanced body wasn't tough to maintain his limb attached to the rest of his body.

But the physical evidences weren't the only things that made Izuka doubt Soldat's story. There was no way that his creation could've been damaged so severely by anything that on the desert. Soldat was obviously lying to him! His master! His savior! His creator! Such an act of defiance had earned him a much shorter life-span, for Izuka had received a second reason to dispose of him and begin with the fourth subject when Izuka had no need for him, although, the first reason was more than good enough to get rid of him… If Soldat's injuries weren't healing themselves, it meant that his body was starting to reject the special brand of the feral serum Izuka had injected him three years ago.

_What a pity, _Izuka thought as he finished with the operation. Even though Soldat was inferior to the other subordinates because he lacked the finesse and lethality of the first subject or the raw power that Bertram displayed, Soldat's results were far superior. It was thanks to his dedication that Izuka had managed to build his secret army of feral ones.

"Get up," Izuka ordered. Soldat moved away from the operating table, and stood up straight. "You should be able to use your arm, but go to some priest and get it fully healed for combat." Soldat tried to make a fist, but he barely managed to move his fingers.

Izuka scoffed with anger. Soldat's movement did not make him mad at the soldier himself, but it did make him even madder at the frailty of the human body. He had spent the majority of his adult life trying to make humans stronger, so that they could be safe from the evil sub-humans that wished to destroy their way of life, but the power Izuka wanted to obtain came at a great cost. Even in his early stages, the powerful Bertram had showed signs of mental deterioration, and a powerful body was of no use if there was no mind to control it. And with Soldat, Izuka made sure that his mind would remain intact, but his body was starting to decompose as the days went by, and Izuka knew that Soldat's mind would be useless if the body could not respond.

_If we are to survive, I must ascend humanity way past our weak selves. Numbers aren't enough!_

"Lord Izuka," Soldat said, breaking Izuka away from his thoughts. "We must meet with General Tauroneo and Prince Pelleas."

_Ah, yes, I should concentrate on this first. _"I will meet with them, alone. I need you to run another errand for me."

"Milord." He bowed his head.

"Someone infiltrated our spy network, and that someone made sure to deliver a verbal message directly to me. It was a proposition"

"The Begnion Senate?"

"Duke Lekain of Gaddos."

"How are you sure, Lord Izuka?"

"Any other would've been stupid enough to have written a letter." Izuka smirked. "He's a clever one, and a major contributor of my business. I was hoping he wouldn't find my involvement in this until I had the crown on the head of my pretty little puppet."

"Wait a moment… aren't we being funded by someone in the senate to begin with?" Soldat raised an eyebrow.

"You can't treat the senate as one entity, Soldat. These men are treacherous beasts that aren't aware of each other's individual dealings outside of Begnion's politics." Izuka rubbed his hands together. "I have made a lot of money with them."

"In other words, Duke Lekain probably doesn't know that we've already come in contact with one of his colleagues?" Soldat asked.

"Exactly! I'm not privy to the specifics of what Duke Lekain plans to offer us, but that's where you come in." Izuka reached inside his cloak, and he produced a small leather pouch. "Take this dust - stop wasting it so much – and meet with a man named Levail."

"In Nevassa?" Soldat asked as he took the pouch from Izuka's hand. The soldier hid the warping powder in his pocket.

Izuka scowled. "For a former scholar, you sure are dumb, Soldat! Duke Numida's ears are all over Nevassa! It's obvious that Lekain would want this meeting to take place far away from there!"

"My apologies, Lord Izuka." Soldat bowed quickly. "It was just wishful thinking on my part."

Izuka hated that about soldiers like Soldat. Their silly fetishes with things like cities always got in the way of rational thinking. Izuka could at least forgive such tendencies if it was directed to something like knowledge. Cities and castles could be destroyed, but not knowledge; it could be forgotten, but it could never be destroyed.

"Use whatever brain you have left to concentrate on your duties, you imbecile!" Izuka wanted to throw something at Soldat for the sake of venting his limitless frustrations, but at the moment, he didn't an object useless enough to waste on his slowly weakening servant.

"My apologies, Lord Izuka," he cordially said. Soldat picked up a nearby drenched cloth, and cautiously started cleaning the area around his injury.

Despite Izuka's growing hatred for Soldat because of the recent events, the scientist couldn't helped but feel pleased that Soldat acted like the good little puppet he was. And Izuka's huge ego always elevated itself whenever the sharp-tongued and proud Soldat bent his knee at his obviously superior master.

"Where exactly am I meeting this man?" Izuka thought that his servant had finally asked as sensible question.

"Glaive Prison," Izuka answered. "It's a small prison located just south of Kisca that Jarod has been using to hold some ladies he has taken a liking to."

"Lovely. I believe one of your spies reported some activity from there."

"For how long were you planning on keeping that information to yourself?" Izuka inquired with a displeased expression.

"I was just informed yesterday, Milord, and it seemed unimportant."

"Well, as per usual, you were wrong! Now tell me what the spies said."

"Some unnamed officer wearing carmine-colored armour stopped there a few days ago…"

"Must be that Levail," Izuka said more to himself.

"Apparently he's been holding executions for the majority – or all - of the soldiers stationed there."

Izuka cursed through gritted teeth. "It's begun! Damn that bastard Lekain! Everything was going so well, and now he comes and forces me to move at a quicker pace. The only smart thing that nincompoop ever does is throw money my way. Other than that, he's just a failure as a creature!" Izuka's old heart raced twice as fast. He clenched his chest, for the sensation of pressure and tightness he felt in his emaciated torso was deathly.

_Curse this useless shell! _Izuka thought as he almost tripped. The man of science took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, and Soldat just stood and watched as his master stared at the face of death. _He thinks that he doesn't need me anymore! They all think I won't be able to bring mankind's salvation!_

"Do you need my assistance?" Izuka barely heard Soldat because of his own loud wheezing.

_It's the other way around! I don't need anyone to save me, but everyone needs me to save them!_

"Leave..."

"Master, I can..."

"Leave! Know your place in the world, you tool!" Soldat gathered his belongings for the purpose of following his master's order. Izuka needed no help from the mortals. What he needed was for Soldat to leave him be so that he could conjure the dark spirits and ask for more time. It was always simple with them since they always asked for the same thing: another piece of his soul.

It was a cheap price to continue to be amongst the living... and Izuka the Cruel had no need for something so useless.

XXXX

The temperature around Glavie Prison was always moist dues to its proximity to Kunu Swamp. And the military prison had never gathered too much attention. Therefore, it was know for being silent and the ideal place to hide secrets. But that had all stopped on the day when General Levail asked to stay for one night. Ever since the decorated officer had set foot on Jarod's sick little hideout, the air had become filled with the sound crying men, angry shouts, pleads of mercy, and of course, the unmistakable noise of the guillotine's blade sliding down to decapitate someone.

General Levail was on a small chapel built right next to the prison. The high-ranking officer prayed with his knees bent, head down, a rosary on his hands, and a stained-glass image of Ashera, the Goddess of Order, before him. Levail should've been present at the executions of the men he had condemned to death since that was what protocol mandated, but he spent his valuable time in a dusty and nearly forgotten chapel.

Levail couldn't stand executions. He thought they were dishonourable, and though most of the soldiers were dirty vermin in Levail eyes, the carmine-clad general firmly believed that the empire's vassals should meet their end in the battlefield – no matter whether they had been loyal servants or just filthy disgraces on the empire's good name.

Someone else entered the chapel just as Levail was halfway through his ritual. Levail knew who it was because of the combination of the sound of the person's hesitant footsteps and the fact that he knew where to find him. Levail had couldn't help but feel a sense of dread forming in the back of his head because he had specifically told the only good soldier he had met not to disturb him.

"Sir!" Levail heard Aran stand up straight. "Sir?" Aran repeated when Levail didn't respond.

"Forgive me, Aran, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken." Levail did not move an inch.

"I don't think they will appreciate your gesture, sir."

"They're not for them. They're for me." Levail knew that the young Aran wouldn't understand. Both of them were purging evil from the world because a greater evil – Duke Lekain – had allowed it. The cold truth Levail lived with every day was that every just action he performed came at a great cost. He had to allow and participate in Duke Lekain's questionable activities in order to at least taste the life of an honourable servant in the empire's service.

"I was the one that brought you the evidence... I'm the one guilty."

"That's not it." Levail decided not to tell him about all the politics behind their actions. Aran thought that Levail was in Daein to get rid of the abusers, and Levail used that to keep him by his side since he needed at least one person to help him understand the full situation in Daein.

"What is?"

_You think I'm killing them out of punishment, but my master ordered me to dispose of any possible loose ends._

"You do not want to know, Aran." Aran's pure motives reminded Levail of himself when he was a squire, and Levail still rued the day he faced the cruel truth: honour and chivalry were long forgotten, and used as propaganda to manipulate young men and women to fight for the causes of sovereign lords.

Levail noticed he had lost track of his prayer, and he wasn't fully sure if he was holding the correct bead. Levail sighed before speaking. "Why are you here?"

"Someone has asked to see you. He's Daein, sir."

The general stood up and faced his junior. "How can you tell?"

"It's not hard to distinguish Daeins." Aran touched his cheekbone for a brief moment. "Everyone here figured out that I was originally from this country."

_He must have suffered, yet he had no though of revenge. _"Describe him."

"Tall, around his mid to late thirties..."

"Tell him to go away. Tell him I will meet with only his master." The Begnion general was sure that the message had not been corrupted. Duke Lekain told him not to show even the slightest bit of flexibility when dealing with Izuka, and that was how Levail intended to do things.

"He doesn't see like the type that will respond well to such a message."

"How many guards a left?"

"Me and the warden," Aran answered.

"Then send him. If that man ends up killing the warden, then he'll be doing us a favour."

"Very well, sir." Aran nodded.

"Get your belongings; we leave for Nevassa once the warden is dead." Once Aran left, Levail resumed what he was doing from the very beginning of his ritual.

XXXX

Prince Pelleas and I were finally able to begin with the war meeting when Izuka decided to finally grace us with his presence. We didn't wait for very long, but it was still insulting to be forced to wait, especially since knights such as myself always took timeliness very seriously. My slight frustration disappeared when I noticed Soldta's lack of presence. It felt relieving to know that I wouldn't have to deal with Soldat's counterproductive attitude in what could've possibly been the most important meeting in Daein history since Queen Elincia handed my country over to Begnion.

The fact that Izuka had not started running his mouth the moment he entered the ruins' "throne room" did concern me, and it was then that I noticed just how dull he looked. He appeared to be beyond tired, maybe even hopeless, which was odd for a man like Izuka, whom despite his lack of physical fitness, he always seemed active and energetic.

I know it was wrong to feel elated over another "person's" misfortune, but I knew that if Izuka's state of health was as bad as he looked, then I figured that he wouldn't put up much of a resistance against the strategies I had for the coming uprising. My worries lied with Izuka wanting to take control over everything – including the military aspect. And though I knew that the man was certainly a respected scholar, I was the expert when it came to warfare. If I ever needed to twist and destroy a living being, then I would call for Izuka's help, so I wanted him to allow me the freedom to work on the revolution as I wanted.

"Lord Izuka, are you well?" Prince Pelleas asked with genuine concern.

"I'm fine, Your Majesty," Izuka said hoarsely. "Knight! Say what you're going to say. I'm a busy man, so hurry up."

I had to agree with Izuka on one thing: we both didn't want to be on the same room.

I cleared my throat. "Given the recent attack, I fear that waiting is no longer an option. Therefore, we cannot wait any longer."

Izuka heavily sighed. "I'm afraid you're right, knight. I wanted to wait for a better candidate for your position, but I guess you'll do."

And I would've liked any other personal advisor to the future king of Daein.

"Izuka, please do not say such things," Prince Pelleas said in my defence. It was apparent that both Izuka and I were surprised at the bold thing the boy had said.

It seemed that Izuka shrugged what boy said as a mere slip of the tongue, but I knew that the boy was slowly gaining confidence in himself.

"I haven't had the time to come up with a strategy," Izuka said. "I trust you have one, or do I have to do everything?"

I ignored that last query. "I believe that the most important thing right now is to cut Numida from Begnion..."

"Ah! I see where you're going. We should take Talrega."

"Not at all. Talrega is too close to the border. We might be spotted by the dracokinghts on patrol. I suggest Cisqua. Its north of Tarega, and all merchants and messenger pass through there."

Izuka raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yes."

"I have no objections. If Prince Pelleas grants your request, then do whatever you want."

After that, Begnion had to deal with the wrath of Daein... and mine.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Sorry for being away for so long, guys. It has been madness through this past few weeks, but I at least spent some much-needed time with my wonderful baby sis and baby bro. Anyway, I wanted to update before 2012, and I'll be unavailable for a few days, so forgive me if I don't respond to your review as I quickly as I usually do._

_Notes on my livejournal account!_

Chapter 8

Despite being born as a simple country girl from Crimea, I had seen a lot of the most magnificent sights in the continent. I've seen the outside and inside of Daein Keep, Queen Elincia had allowed me to explore all the halls in Castle Crimea, and I once prayed in the majestic Mainnal Cathedral! Seeing those places and many more had made it difficult to impress me with architecture whenever I found myself travelling to new places. But Cisqua had left me dumbstruck, especially since I had imagined that all Daein settlements – save for Nevassa – to be broken and poor, just like Hackdirt and Talrega. My impression of Daeins changed. They apparently were just as good as us, Crimeans, when it came to building large metropolitan cities.

All the streets were made with some sort of smooth dark brick, which really made travelling by foot or horse much easier. There were many lampposts scattered all over the streets – and I imagined that Cisqua must've been quite a beautiful spot during the night when those lampposts would be lit. The buildings had a strange style that I had never seen before. The characteristics about the architecture that really stood out were the pointed arcs, flying buttresses, and the ribbed vaults in every large structure - like churches.

My only companion on this trip away from the desert, Jill, had explained to me that even though Cisqua appeared to be really modern, their buildings were outdated by almost two centuries. But I had to hand it to those city folk, they sure kept their home looking nice and clean. It almost felt as if Begnion hadn't ransacked this particular place on purpose. And at first I thought that perhaps all the Daein citizens had been replaced by some people that came from the empire, but they all looked Daein. In fact, only the patrolling town guards looked like folk from Begnion.

I just couldn't help but feel that something rotten was behind the beauty of this seemingly unaffected Daein territory.

"Nephenee?" Jill whispered. "Don't get distracted." I immediately shook my head and focused at the task at hand.

"Sorry. I was caught off-guard by... all of it," I said with my head down.

"I know what you mean. It's almost unreal." Even though Jill didn't reprimand me, I still mentally kicked myself for letting a few buildings get in the way of what she and I were doing.

We were sent to County Cisqua by General Tauroneo for the purpose of observing just how Begnion had fortified the merchant city, and later inform him what we're up against. I knew that my place wasn't to question the wisdom of a war veteran such as him, but I thought he could've chosen better spies than a frontline soldier and a wyvern rider. Zihark would've been perfect, since mercenaries seemed to adjust to any sort of place with ease. On the other hand, Jill and I stood out... We really stood out. It was bad enough that I was walking with a lance in my hand, the clanking of Jill's armour echoed through the streets and she had an axe hanging from her belt.

I started to get very nervous due to the noise Jill was making. Mostly because I noticed that the city was crawling with guards. Some were dutifully patrolling the streets with their weapons in hand, and I spotted some soldiers slaking off near bars and brothels. I had lost count of how many men were wearing red armour after reaching thirty-six. Suffice to say, I wasn't sure if General Tauroneo's forces would be enough to take down the occupying soldiers, let alone Jill and I if we attracted too much attention.

"Jill?" I whispered. "Don't ya think we should've left that armour of yours with the wyvern?"

"Don't worry, the people – even the soldiers – know me," she said reassuringly.

"How?"

"Haar and I have delivered a lot of packages here. That's why no one paid attention to my wyvern landing near the stables." I felt like smacking my forehead for not having realizing what Jill said. A huge green dragon landed inside the city walls and no one paid attention to it, yet I wasn't worried about attracting attention to ourselves... Then again, all I was thinking at the moment was getting out of that scary, flying monster.

"I see. So that's why Sir Tauroneo asked you to come here?" I asked after making sure no one could hear me mention the name of a Daein general.

"Not quite," she answered. "The... Prince's advisor has plenty of people working for him that could've done this job much better and faster than us. But the General doesn't trust them at all."

"He trusts me?" I asked with a bit of shock.

Jill looked surprised at what I said. "Why wouldn't he?"

_I'm Crimean. _"I don't know."

"He seemed moved by your story when Zihark told it to him." She smiled. I was glad that General Tauroneo didn't discriminate me – or Meg for that matter – for being Crimean. He seemed like a nice enough man back when he joined the Crimean Liberation Army, but he mostly kept to himself and barely talked to anyone. But I was sure that he had his reasons for hardly talking to anyone during a war in which he killed his own countrymen each and every day. I never stopped to think how hard it must've been for Sothe, Jill, Zihark, and General Tauroneo to have sided with Ike's cause... It had been so easy for me.

"I... I just want to help - just like ya did." Jill placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and the look of understanding in her face told me everything I wanted to hear: She wasn't blaming me for what had happened to her homeland, and she was grateful that I was joining in to liberate her country. "Thank ya, Jill."

We continued to scout the large Daein city after that. I wasn't sure of the details of what we were doing since Jill seemed to be on top of things. She seemed to be counting everything around us, from Begnion soldiers to the buildings we were passing as we walked. And every once in a while, she would rest a piece of parchment against some wall and write something on it. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't doing much - I kind of felt as if I was just accompanying Jill just in case things went south in our "spy mission".

I felt like a fish out of water. I only knew how to fight in a battlefield, but I thought it was a nice change of piece for me to be useful while not having to kill another person. Sadly, just as I was starting to relax a little for the first time since landing on Cisqua, I spotted two armoured men looking at us. These two were different from the rest of soldiers. One of then looked like the typical Begnion lancer, but his armour was blue instead of red; I didn't get a good look at his face because of the matching helmet on his head. The second man truly stood out. He was clad in carmine-coloured armour, and the amount of metal plates he was wearing was just about the same a halberdier tend to wear, but he was much bulkier than any lancer I had seen, and he shield was huge when compared to my old one... and the black and blue spear on his back looked familiar.

It took me a moment carmine-clad soldier was looking at Jill as if he recognized her. I was grateful for the fact that he was paying no attention to me. I was tempted to ignore them and simply think that Jill had met that man in one of her deliveries to Cisqua, but I had a bad gut feeling about those two – especially from the stronger-looking one. I drew the line when they started to follow us – at a safe distance. It was one thing to stare at the new faces in town, but having them on our trail did not ease my fears.

I discreetly tugged her yellow tunic. "Huh?"

"Do ya know those fellas?" I tilted my head in the direction of our pursuers. Jill peeked at them with the corner of her eye. She shook her head a moment later.

"Never seen them before," she answered. She stopped in front of wooden fruit stand and pretended to be interested in what they were selling.

_What are ya doin'? _is what I wanted to scream at her. It was obvious to me that she was waiting for those two to catch up to us. I was jumpy and paranoid, and for some reason, I relived General Jarod's ambush all over again. My fully healed shoulder ached. I bit my bottom lip to try to calm myself down. It was unlike me to be so afraid. I didn't even hesitate to raise my lance when I fought on the desert, yet for some reason, I was starting to feel cold and rooted to the spot.

I saw the carmine-clad soldier slow down his pace when he was close to Jill. Then, he took off his helmet when he was at arm's length of the red-headed wyvern rider, revealing a man who looked to be on his mid-thirties. He had blonde hair, brown eyes, and an honest look. I knew looks could be deceiving, but I still felt a little more at ease when I saw the man's gentle appearance – which contradicted his strong build.

"Excuse me, miss?" the man said, sounding cultured and noble.

"Yes?" Jill broke stopped looking at the fruit she was never going to buy. She focused on the Begnion knight with a calm and collected attitude – one that I envied.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but you seem awfully familiar." He paused. "I... You..." He was struggling with his words. "You remind me of someone from my younger days. Someone I looked up to. Would you happen to be related to a man named Shiraham?"

Jill and I were taken aback by the knight's question, though Jill appeared far more surprised than I. Who could blame her for looking so shocked? I would've turned pale if a stranger on the streets came up to me and told me he knew my deceased papa. Nevertheless, I had to hand it to Jill, she recovered much, much faster that I would have if I had been on her situation.

She composed herself. "He was my father." She almost sounded hoarsely.

"Ah! Of course! You look just like your mother, but you have your father's determined eyes. If I'm not mistaken, your name is Jill?" Jill nodded. The Begnion knight bowed politely. "I apologize again for bothering you."

"It's no problem. Could you tell me your name?" Jill pressed on.

"Levail," the knight answered. "A friend of my family, Captain Haar, introduced me to your father before I became a knight. He was such an inspirational man."

"He... Yes, he was," Jill said quietly. She shook her head as if she wanted to snap out of something. "Haar survived the Mad King's War. I'll tell him I met you, Sir Levail."

The knight's lips slightly curled upwards. "I'm glad he's fine. Does he still sleep half the day away?"

Jill smiled, and she looked like someone remembering a fond memory. "His wyvern does almost all the work. Nowadays, all he needs to do is look human."

"Some things never change." Both Jill and Levail shared a laugh at poor Haar's expensed. At least I knew that I didn't need to be afraid of those two men. In fact, Levail didn't act like the usual Begnion brute everyone in Daein was afraid of, and his blue-armoured companion simply stood there – motionless.

"Sir," the shorter lancer spoke, "pardon me for interrupting, but you'll be late for your... meeting."

Levail looked at the shadow of a lamppost that stood near us. "You're right, Aran. It'll be midday soon."

"Sorry to intrude, Lady Fizzart." The knight bowed to Jill and later to me. "Have a good day."

"Same to you," Jill said. It wasn't until they both left that I realized that I didn't say goodbye to the knight due to a stiffness I had been experiencing since Jill started talking to the Begnion knight. I hoped that they didn't think I was rude because I just stood there and did not say a polite farewell to the both of them.

But my little worries of what the Begnion soldiers thought of me went away the moment Jill and turned around and literally bumped into an imposing man wearing Daein armour. He was clearly clad in Daein armour! It was as if this man had a death wish if he walked around a Begnion occupied city while proudly showing off the colours of the army Begnion had worked so hard to destroy – and made sure that it stayed that way – for three years. After I got over my initial shock over the man's outfit, I noticed he was armed to the teeth, and a black and white muffler covered most of his unusually pale face.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." The man wagged his index finger at Jill. "You have a very serious problem, Lady Fizzart." His voice sounded so unnatural that it sent a chill down my spine. "You continue to fraternize with the enemy! You first betray us to Crimea, and now you show signs of joining Begnion."

"What are you doing here?" Jill hissed before looking around our surroundings. It was the oddest thing. All the patrols around the area were gone. Of course, the usual passerby gave us funny glances, but they couldn't get us into trouble. "Where are all the guards?"

"Never mind that, I'm more interested in why you, and your friend over there, are here?"

"You would know if you hadn't suddenly vanished on us," Jill retorted.

"I've been busy."

"So are we." Jill was about to move away when the man clad in dark plates grabbed her armoured shoulder.

"That lancer you were so casually socializing with is to be General Jarod's replacement." I was surprised at what he said, but the good type of surprised. Knowing that the scumbag who nearly killed me was getting replaced certainly felt like good news to me. "Understand that I cannot let this incident slip by." He tightened his grip. It looked as if he were to bend Jill's armour if he applied just a little more force.

Jill pushed his arm away. "Fine," she said calmly. "Do you know a safe place where we can speak?"

"I just so happen to know the perfect place." He looked at me for the first time. His stare felt like snakes choking me. "You... you look familiar..."

"General Tauroneo told me you saw her when Zihark and I were taking care of her," Jill added.

"I know she's the reason you two started to shirk your duties. But I'm sure I've seen you before." His face scrunched after a few seconds passed. "Ah! No wonder you know these traitors. You were also there."

XXXX

Mad Lord Izuka entered the massive Castle Cisqua after his crony escorted him there a few minutes prior. The largest building in County Cisqua was built during King Ashnard's reign, meaning that it was built for the purpose of defense. The castle stuck out not just because of its enormous size, but also for the fact that it held no design similarities to the rest of the elegant buildings in the Daein County.

Nevertheless, all the rich culture behind Cisqua was completely ignored by the deranged scientist. He kept on walking through the halls, and ignoring all the Daein art on the walls. It wasn't as if Izuka had never seen the battlefield scenes depicted on the paintings made by Daein's most famous artists. Izuka felt anger, indignation, and his never-ending frustration pulsing through his veins.

He kept on thinking on just how that Levail must've not known his place on this world if he demanded to see him, a very busy man, instead of just delivering Lekain's message to Soldat. _Who does this pawn think he is? Meeting with my pawn would've been enough. After all, that's what servants are for! They meet with each other so that the important people, such as myself, can continue to run things smoothly!_

The once advisor to King Ashnard did not notice the two lancers on patrol until they crossed their lances into an X shape. Having two nameless soldiers block his way only added more negative emotions to his already unbalanced state. The men recognized Izuka and told him to wait for General Levail to arrive.

Remembering what happened the last time he got agitated, Izuka just scoffed and turned around. He recognized that arguing with stuck-up Begnion soldiers would not produce any positive results, so he waited for the arrogant Levail. Thankfully, the man in question appeared in a few minutes, and he right before Izuka reached the limits of his own short patience.

Izuka's eyes widened once he took a good look at General Levail. The armour worn by the Begnion general had some distinct markings, and anyone with knowledge of ancient history – like Izuka – would be able to recognize them. The markings and the shapes of the plates identified the blonde man as a Holy Lancer – or Sentinel. The madman couldn't help but wonder if the knight before truly deserved to be known as such, or if Lekain tried to make him more intimidating by giving him armour he didn't deserve.

"Might you be Lord Izuka?" the knight asked.

"I am," Izuka answered. The madman's eyes inspected every inch of Levail's armour in an attempt to spot any flaws in its design. "You are Levail, correct?" Izuka already knew the answer, but he was stalling for time, and he also wanted to call him by name without using any honorifics or titles.

Levail shifted his attention to the two guards. "Leave us," he ordered.

"I don't have all day," Izuka said when he failed to see any indication of Levail's armour being a cheap forgery, and once they were alone.

"Wait a moment."

Before Izuka had the chance to lecture General Levail about the importance of his time and work, a mysterious glow appeared a few feet away from them. A moment later, the glow turned into a golden circle with text written in the ancient language.

A man materialized from the circle. The unmistakable heavyset Senator Lekain stood before the madman and the general with a staff on his hand. Lekain's pupils didn't dilate, his breathing was even, and he stood with the grace and confidence that was expected from one of the most powerful men in the world. In short, Lekain showed none of the symptoms everyone went through whenever they used the teleportation dust – it confused Izuka.

"Thank you for setting this up, Levail," Lekain said. "Now reach Nevassa as soon as you can. My friend, Numida, is getting desperate." Lekain chuckled. Without uttering a single word, the Begnion general turned his heel and left.

"Pardon for all the secrecy, but you know how it works," Lekain began with a smug look. "My, my, Izuka, the years have been cruel to you."

"How!" was Izuka's only response.

"Be more specific, my poor friend."

"How are you even standing straight? You've just warped!"

Lekain grinned widely. "Oh, you're going to love this. Remember when you were the head of the senate's research and development team? You said that it was impossible for anyone to warp without suffering through some nasty secondary effects. You were wrong." He tapped the floor twice with his staff. "And here's my proof. To think that you said that we wouldn't achieve any breakthroughs without you working directly under us."

"It can't be! The necessary concentration needed to warp from one place to another far exceeds what our minds can handle! That's why…"

"Spare me your outdated research, and concentrate on what I'm going to offer you. Maybe I'll even give you one of these," he shook his staff, "if all goes well."

Izuka was having trouble letting go of the subject, for he had used that ghastly dust over an hour ago. How very bittersweet it was for Izuka to know of the existence of that magical staff. It offered so many benefits for him, but it also made him look like a fool for disproving what he had said in the past."

"Offer me? Lord Lekain, you are ever so kind." _I hate your very being, you slimy swine! _"I was under the impression that you wanted to ask for my services." _You would be nothing without me! _"But I'm guessing that you also get something out this?" _You're a damn egotistical blight upon this land._

Lekain crossed his arms behind his back. "Numida's gotten too powerful, and all I want is for everything to go back as it used to be."

"With you on top of all the other senators."

"Well, things have gone stupendously great with me as vice-minister."

"Do you want Daein under your care?" Izuka asked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lekain exclaimed. "I'm far too busy as it is. Not to mention how expensive it is to watch over all these savages. What I want is to give all Daeins a false sense of freedom, but still maintaoin power over them; after all, their punishment isn't over just yet."

"You mean…"

"You know exactly what I mean." Lekain took out a piece of parchment… but it wasn't any regular parchement.

_A/N: This was a bit rushed... Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's a bit early, but I wish you the best time for all of you._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: There's no way I've forgotten about this story. I fully intend on continuing this until it's finished. I have yet to fully adjust to this semester's schedule, but when I do, I'll return to my usual biweekly updating pattern. One more thing: I'll be getting hit with six tests on the coming two weeks, so I have the best of intention on updating the next chapter in the first week of March._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 9

I couldn't help but relive so many painful memories I had pushed aside after the end of the Mad King's War. All the worry, uncertainty, and loss of hope I experienced prior to joining the Greil Mercenaries that was born out of a fear-driven propaganda the Crimean nobles – including Duke Renning – launched upon people like Brom and I, in order to get us to join a hopeless cause. We were told that Daeins were nothing more than warmongering monsters, that they were bent in destroying our way of life because they were jealous of us, and that they would extirpate whatever they deemed unworthy once their grip on Crimea's throne was solidified. Needless to say, many of us believed the demonic picture our leaders gave us in our most desperate hour. Some went as far as to declare Daeins as less "human" than the neighboring Gallians.

I stopped believing in those nasty images and false rumours as we kept on winning battle after battle under Ike's leadership, because as it turned out, the Mad King's War was the result of a difference of opinion between the Daein and Crimean monarchs when it came to dealing with the laguz – that's what General Ike and Queen Elincia told us once Ashnard died. Even though everything we were fed about Daeins being evil monsters was a lie, the fear they inflicted upon us was very real.

And as the months went by, I realized how utterly stupid I was to believe those types of lies. The very fact that I used to believe in a country filled with only ill-meaning people, whose ultimate goal was to rid us of our joy, always made me want to bash my head against the wall because nothing in this world sounded more far-fetched. It was all a ridiculous and naïve part of my life, until I met Soldat. He embodied everything… everything that was just wrong; wrong when it came to basic human decency, and he just seemed to purposely go against the Goddesses teachings.

I didn't even know him for very long and my mind was already made up. After looking at me with his hateful and cold eyes, I knew that he wasn't just some scorned Daein with a bone to pick with every Crimean. He was a bad person with a hollow heart. And I didn't need much proof beyond the fact that he treated Jill like dirt or how he pushed aside a beggar that approached us. This man made me want to just grab Meg and leave. The thought of him and I being in the same side made me sick to my stomach; however, I reminded myself that good people like Jill and Zihark were also with me, and I felt like I had to help them because not only did they save me not to long ago, but because they aided my country when I was in their position.

I hoped Soldat was leading us to some far corner in the city, so hearing his voice could be delayed even for a little bit longer. My luck's never been good to me. Our way was blocked in an alley by a group of five Begnion soldiers being led by a man dressed in white robes. Judging from his clothes and staff, he looked like a high-ranking church official. The man in white pointed at Soldat, and the soldiers raised their lances. As crimson-clad men slowly approached the Daein soldier, Jill and I backed away a few steps – curiously, we were completely ignored.

Within a few seconds, Soldat was surrounded, and he looked bored despite the threatening sharp weapons close to his neck. The bishop closed the distance between him and Soldat once any retaliation by the ebon-clad man was obviously suicidal. As to take one last precaution, the bishop produced a tome from his robes.

"Why all the weapons, my son?" the bishop asked with shaky tone.

Soldat raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "I could ask you the same question, priest."

"This is a peaceful town," the bishop continued, ignoring Soldat's magnificent observation, "and you walking around with and armory's worth of arms is inciting some uneasiness amongst the nice people of Cisqua."

"Are you really being bothered by my weapons?" He took a small step forward, and everyone reacted fearfully by backing off a bit. "There's plenty of mercs walking around and drinking the day away, and some of them look more menacing than me." I disagreed with that statement. Soldat looked more intimidating than the clumsy-looking mercenaries in Cisqua. "I think your problem with me is something else." He casually brushed his armored left shoulder with his right hand, being blatantly obvious about his Daein Army armour.

"Well, my son, all those weapons and your… appearance do fit the profile for a potentially dangerous person." Soldat sneered at the clergyman.

I noticed Soldat's right hand hover around one of his daggers, his fingers moved as if he was eager to grab the handle. "Please explain yourself," he taunted.

Before the argument could escalate any further, Jill stepped in. She bypassed the lancers in front of us by sliding her slim figure between them. The wyvern rider grabbed Soldat's arm and she bowed awkwardly before the priest. I was caught a little off-guard by her sudden intervention in the escalating violent scene before us. Since she decided to intervene, I rooted myself to the ground and mentally prepared myself to aid her if things got ugly.

"Please forgive my associate!" Jill pleaded. "He's a mercenary I hired to protect me and my friend. However, it seems that he has the intelligence of a simian!" she snapped at Soldat.

The bishop stroked his chin. His face scrunched a little, hinting some recognition. "Aren't you that wyvern delivery girl? Haar's partner?"

"Yes!" Jill straightened up and looked at the bishop. "Yes I am! Haar and I have delivered many works of art to your church, Your Excellency."

The bishop smiled at the honorific Jill used. "Ah, yes. I don't want to sound intrusive, but what are you delivering this time?"

Jill's back stiffened. When she didn't give an answer, I decided to interject before we looked suspicious in the eyes of armed Begnion soldiers. "She's escortin' me, sir. Some of the roads are very dangerous," I learned that the hard way, "and my friend offered to fly me to places like this fine city."

He seemed to ponder on what I said to him, but I knew that he would realize that something didn't quite add up. "Then why have the brute with you?" he asked, pointing at Soldat with his thumb.

Soldat sneered again… Apparently, he didn't want to be helpful in the difficult situation he created! "Can't be… too careful," I answered lamely.

There was a moment of silence before Soldat spoke. "You see, priest, the ladies have heard some very disturbing rumours regarding General Jarod and his unfortunate accident. Travelers are a little worried." Soldat looked around, and then he added, "There's even some whispers of an upcoming revolution. You can imagine how unsafe these," he grabbed my shoulder and Jill's, "two must feel."

Soldat's gloved hand felt so unnaturally cold. The only similar sensation that I could think of was the chilling blow of a wind spell. I felt numb when he released me. But while I was being worried about Soldat's low temperature, the men that surrounded us looked concerned for some reason. The bishop stuttered before getting ahold of himself. "Don't go around spreading those false rumours!" _False? _"I don't know who told you three that our General Jarod was injured…"

"I didn't say he was injured," Soldat chimed smugly. The tension was so thick that it should've been visible. I envisioned at least five horrible scenarios in less that twelve seconds, none of them happened. The clergyman simply shot Soldat a hateful glare and left with the soldiers without saying another word. I made a mental note to visit a nearby church and pray my eternal gratitude to Ashera once I found the time.

"What the blazes is wrong with you?" Jill hissed at Soldat, and I made sure that no one was close enough to hear us – some people were watching us form a distance once they saw a group of soldiers leave. "It's bad enough that you irritate all your allies to the brink of insanity, but do you have to do it to our enemies while we're in their territory?"

"You silly girl," Soldat raised his hand and he looked as if he was going to pat Jill's head, but she grabbed his wrist before he had a chance to lower it.

"I have a pretty big wyvern," she threatened.

"Cute," he replied as he released himself from her grip. "They were never going to do anything to us. Not in public, anyway. And it pertains to what I have to tell you. If we could just continue without you making another scene, I'll be able to explain a few things, and you have to share whatever Tauroneo is thinking."

With wrecked nerves and a feeling of lightheadedness, I continued to follow Jill and Soldat's lead. There was no exchange between us, although I had the impression that Jill wanted to say something to me, because she kept looking back at me. I couldn't blame her for staying silent. After all, with him around, talking would've felt like an unnecessary burden. Or maybe Jill wanted to tell me something important that he, by no means, could know about?

My mind wondered to the hierarchy of Daein's freedom fighters. General Tauroneo was obviously the commander and he answered to the mysterious Prince of Daein I hadn't met. But I was curious about Jill's standing in the army, especially since she talked back to Soldat, and he fits the description of a Daein officer: big, mean and scary. I wasn't interested in gaining some comfortable position, and I didn't mind being at the back of the pack when it came to military standing, but I wished that Jill – or Zihark – held an important position to perhaps ask them to assign very far away from Soldat and his ilk.

I didn't want to believe that the organization inside the Daein Liberation Army was so bad that underlings could misbehave to their superiors... I settled on the possibility of different parties within the army having difficulties when it came to communicating information; after all, that's the impression I got when Jill reprimanded Soldat for not being on the battle that took place on the desert.

It wasn't long before Soldat lead Jill and me to what I assumed to be Cisqua's… least desirable district. The streets were filled with brutish-looking mercenaries and prostitutes trying to court potential customers; the houses weren't in terrible conditions, but I did spot a few broken windows and cracked walls, and there was a huge lack of patrols. I was never much of a tactician, but I mentally told myself to find out if there was a gate that lead to this shady part of town, because it seemed to be the perfect place to strike first due to its lack of Begnion vigilance.

Subconsciously, I think I knew to what kind of place we were going to end up in; because when I noticed that we were heading to a tavern, I wasn't the surprised at all – I might've been disappointed if we it had been a nice restaurant that served edible food. The sign above the Tavern's entrance read "The Foaming Jugs". Before we made our way inside, a drunken patron ran outside and collided with Soldat. Surprisingly, he did not fall; instead, he looked at the man in front of him and smiled.

"Why… 'ello there, boss. Ya got some work for me and my buds?" The whistling that came as a result of the man's wooden teeth made me cringe quite a bit.

Soldat pushed him aside. "Take a bath and maybe we'll talk."

Just when I thought we were finished with him, about two dozen just like him were sitting inside the dimly lit tavern. All of them seemed to recognize Soldat. "There must be a better place," Jill stated.

"I know this very hospitable bordello and it's just down the street. You might learn something from the nice employees there, like how to get rid of that giant stick up your ass!" Soldat snapped.

Jill wisely gave no attention to his rude remark, and she pointed to an empty table at the corner of the room. The three of us sat down around the table Jill spotted before anyone else could take it. I think Soldat assumed that Jill and I would be the first ones to start talking about the issues, but after a few awkward moments in silence passed, Soldat raised his arm. "Barkeep, bring me a beer," he said. "Do both of you need a drink to loosen your tongues?"

"We're fine." Jill waved her hand dismissively. "It's you who should start talking. Nephenee and I are here under order of General Tauroneo, while you seem to be here to befriend some locals."

"We might need a few mercenaries," he said thoughtfully. "Fair enough, I'll go first. This city used to be King Ashnard's 'Golden Goose', meaning that our late leader got more than half of his war funding from Cisqua alone. The amount of money here is unbelievably high, and that's why Numida hasn't touched this place at all. He's ransacked every other place, but he has managed Cisqua just as King Ashnard did."

"That doesn't explain why you're here," Jill pointed out.

"Among other things, I've been following all those shiny gold and silver coins. They are trying to keep any hostilities to a minimum, which is why that bishop never had any intention of apprehending me, in an attempt to not disturb the nice and smooth flow of money. " Soldat chuckled. "Numida has underfunded the Occupation Army, which gives us an advantage if General Tauroneo heeds my advice of leaving Cisqua untouched for the early stages of the uprising."

I cocked my eyebrow questioningly because something about what he said didn't make sense. If Cisqua was such an asset to Begnion, then taking it away from them as soon as possible felt like the logical conclusion. I wanted to voice my opinion, but I decided against it. No good would've come out from starting an argument with him. And Jill's curious expression told me that she had come to the same conclusion. Although, she appeared more willing than I in challenging Soldat's strange – or lack of – logic.

"General Tauroneo is aware of all of this; care to explain why both of you have different opinions?" Jill inquired.

Soldat crossed his arms and shook his head. "Let's not start talking strategy."

Jill sighed. "Fine."

"Your turn." Soldat pointed at us.

"We're gathering information for General Tauroneo." Jill and I scanned our surroundings, trying to see if someone was trying to eavesdrop, no one was. "I don't have an exact date for you, but we need to find out if Numida will be visiting Cisqua anytime soon before we leave. As you probably know, he visits Cisqua on a regular basis, and the General doesn't want to face his sizable group of guards this early on."

"Sounds like he can still manage a few sensible thoughts in his senile years," he rudely commented.

Jill clenched her jaw in annoyance. "But seeing how you have an ear to the ground on everything that goes on here, I'll ask you if you know something about Numida's next scheduled visit?"

"You expect me to share information that sensitive – and obtained through many hardships, mind you – with a woman with loose loyalties?" He turned his attention to me. "And a _Crimean_?" He made sure to sound disgusted when he spoke that last word. If he intended to insult me because of my nationality, then he failed. I was still a little sensitive when it came to what others thought of me, but I knew that whatever Soldat thought of me would just bounce back.

"There's nothing left to discuss if you're going to act like a child." As Jill and I got up, a frail-looking old man with a beer-filled mug came by our table.

"Here you go, sir." He handed Soldat the glass. "Can I interest your friends in something?"

"They were just leaving." The old man nodded and left. Soldat reached inside his cuirass and pulled out a letter. "Tell him to think twice before ruining years of planning." He tossed the piece of paper at Jill.

She caught it, but before reading its contents, she and I noticed that the letter was stamped with Begnion's insignia. "What is it?"

"A letter Numida wrote to Count Cisqua. He's ordering the Count to withdraw fifteen percent of the treasury in order to build a mercenary army."

"I-I will deliver this to him at once," Jill stammered.

"By the way, that letter is the original. Count Cisqua received a forgery I made…. A while back, so expect everything to go according to their plans." Soldat raised his glass. "Cheers."

Jill and I left before he undid his muffler. She read the letter on our way out and she did not look happy when she finished. Her surprised expression turned into an infuriated one. Her fingers twitched, almost ripping the Numida's letter. Without saying anything, she gave me the piece of paper. I didn't need to know read the whole thing to know what had angered Jill. The letter was dated back to the day after Begnion's attack on the desert fortress. She and I looked at each other and I could tell what had miffed her, because it was the same thing that was slowly eating me away.

Soldat must've known about this for more than one week and he didn't even come forth with this information. "Bastard," I whispered.

XXXX

No matter how many times he tried, how hard concentrated, or even his good intentions to stop himself, Volug couldn't control his own body. He wanted to be by Queen Nailah's side; instead, he stalked an army of ebon-clad men in their journey across the desert. Whatever abomination that controlled him was compelled to follow the Butcher's orders, which made Volug feel like a lowly dog slave. The wolf's pride was badly hurt. He had been a respected warrior among his kind, and later reduced to a human's hunting toy.

The Butcher had ordered him to watch over the humans, and to ensure the safety of one beorc who wore elegant clothing. This required him to stay as far away as possible, unless he needed to close the distance between him and the special human to protect him from danger. However, Volug wished he had been allowed closer to the humans, because they might've put him out of his misery if the rumours of beorc reacting hostilely towards unknown creatures turned out to be true.

The wolf's mind grew weary as time went by. It could've been days, or it could've been seconds, but he was tired nonetheless. His sense of time – like his sanity – was something he lost as time went on. He withdrew his conciseness deep in his mind – where the loose beast had no presence - so that he could rest while his body continued to serve the Butcher's bidding.


End file.
